


Stature

by infinitrinx



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Action, Alternate Universe - Bittybones, Angst, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Like so much angst, M/M, Mistreatment of Monsters, Monster Abuse, Monster Oppression, Non-Binary Frisk, Other, Post-Pacifist Ending, Reader has no implied gender or sexuality, Selectively Mute Frisk, SlaveTale, Smol!Monsters, Smol!Papyrus, Teenage!Frisk, The Evil Of Capitalism, Trigger warnings will be listed at the start of each chapter, Violence, like those 2 heavily inspired this fic, rating may change as the story progresses, slowburn, smol!sans
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-10-18
Updated: 2016-11-26
Packaged: 2018-08-23 03:23:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 17
Words: 35,854
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8312125
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/infinitrinx/pseuds/infinitrinx
Summary: This is the story of a human, one in several billion. A comma in a dictionary, a drop in a hurricane.This is the tale of a kind soul striving for justice.This is the tale of companionship beyond boundaries.This is the tale of lost and found, of ignorance and forgiveness, of oppression and liberation.This is the tale of cover-ups and secrets, of greed and gangs, of hopes and dreams.This is a revelation of the truth.And maybe, just one human can make all the difference.Who are they? Why, its you of course.-or alternatively-A high school teacher and a tiny skeleton walk into an alley. Somehow that leads to the salvation of an entire race.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Hell is a Place on the Surface](https://archiveofourown.org/works/6776788) by [Lavender_chan](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lavender_chan/pseuds/Lavender_chan). 



> Hello everyone!  
> This is my first Undertale fic because I just fell down this hellhole fandom 2 months ago so, uh, please be gentle with me?  
> After binging on several too many fanfictions, I've fallen in absolute love with the Slavetale and Bittybones AU. Naturally, I was forced by my own imagination to combine the two. So here we go!
> 
> Seeing that my fic is inspired by the aforementioned two wonderful works, I give full credit to the respective writers for some ideas I stole; the original dynamic of Reader first seeing Sans as a pet to BitterSweetDeath and the monster collars to Lavender_chan. Please, please do check out their astounding writing, I promise you will not regret it.
> 
> I do have a bad habit of leaving fics unfinished, so feel free to harass me for the next chapter. Help me improve my writing with constructive criticism in the comments! Special thanks to my personal slave driver, Hash, who has the job of harassing me in person.
> 
> With that said, enjoy this painful journey.  
> Love,  
> Trin.

_Monster pet~_  
_Monster pet~_  
_The pocket sized friend for buckets of fun!_  
**_Get your very own palm sized pal at the nearest Creature Cave! Monsters on offer for less tha-_**

You continued thumbing through the limited channels, snippets of scenes and advertisements flashing by. None lingered on the television screen for long. You sighed, sinking lower into the edge of your couch. Chin propped on the edge of your palm, legs sprawled to the other end of the couch, the dull beginnings of a headache teased at your temples, prompting you to click the home button of your phone.  
11:32pm  
Ugh.

It took several more moments for you to gather the will to pry your body off the magnetising crease in the couch. Stretching your arms above your head, your joints popped their complaints and you sighed in satisfaction. Well then, it’s time to pretend to be a Functioning Adult.  
Padding to the kitchen, you scrunched your nose in disgust while tying up the black garbage bag in the bin. Hauling it out, you slipped on a pair of shoes before heading out of your apartment. It was a good thing that you lived on the ground level, it meant less walking for you.  
The garbage bin was not far, though you took your time strolling. It was a cold night, not bitterly so, but chilly enough that goose bumps rose on your skin at the wind’s caress. It was a Sunday, meaning tomorrow’s agenda consisted of a full day of spouting academic nonsense and paper grading.

You dumped your sack of garbage into the large green bin unceremoniously, stuffing your hands into your pockets.  
It wasn’t like you hated your job. In all honesty, you loved being a teacher! It was just that point in the school year where the days blur into each other with droning monotony and the students’ bright eyed resolve for good grades had long since been scattered in the wind. Assignments piled up on each other, turning into a frantic marking frenzy, leaving late nights to the company of coffee and several too many red pens.  
You truly did love being a teacher. It’s just so difficult to keep up your own enthusiasm, let alone inspire others to do the same.

A loud crashing interrupted your musings. It came from the narrow alley behind your apartment complex. Heart pounding, you scanned the area. It was just you, alone in the night lest for the towering lines of streetlamps, bathing the streets in a golden-orange hue.

You fingered your keys, slipping them into the gaps of your fingers as you formed a fist, prepared to defend yourself if required. Straining your ears, you heard no sign of a tussle nor the wailing of cats.  
“Hello?” you called, like some idiot in a horror movie. “Is someone there? Are you alright?”

There was another vague clanging noise. A glass bottle rolled on the concrete ground, the hollow sound of glass against pavement loud in the still night. You caught sight of something glowing in the darkness, two pinpricks of light. You froze, squinting.

Then suddenly there was a burst of blue, cyan energy shoving you roughly backwards, not forceful enough to push you to the ground but strong enough to make you stumble back a step, surprised. Another flash, this time behind you, and you caught sight of a blur in your peripheral vision.

The pattering steps of a small skeleton clacked against the sidewalk.  
You started, _what the fuck._  
It ran, frantic to get away from you. You stood rooted to the ground, keys clutched limply in your hand. _What the fuck??_

The monster was on the road now, a short distance away as you continued to watch the strange creature. It looked back at you, eye sockets dark. Its bones harsh and sharp in the shadows cast by a headlight. Your eyes shot up. A car.

Your legs were sprinting before you realised it. Arm outstretched, you pointed a little wildly, “Look out!”

When you gave chase, the creature’s eye sockets widened, turning its attention forward as it sprinted faster. It turned just in time to notice the car, halting in its tracks before lunging to the side. Not fast enough. The edge of the car caught the skeleton, sending it tumbling to the ground.

There was a sickening crunch and you felt your stomach churn.  
Bottom lip between your teeth, you ran forward to where the creature lay, the car having driven off. Bending down, you were relieved to see it was still alive, albeit worse for wear. It’s left tibia was fractured, the bone broken in two but thankfully mostly intact. The creature was about the size of your palm, groggily pushing itself upright. When you reached for it with outstretched palms, it’s head snapped upwards, scrabbling backwards before hissing in pain.

“Hey, little guy. Don’t be scared.” You cooed, reaching for it again. The same blue energy which pushed you back earlier slapped your hand away. A blue flame flickered in the skeleton’s left eye, the other eerily dark and empty.  
" **D o n’ t  t o u c h  m e.** ” It snarled.

You jumped again, not expecting it to respond, much less in clear English.  
“I-I…” You began, not knowing what to say or do. The skeleton’s tiny hand was shaking. The glow in its eye sputtered and died. The creature went limp and your heart dropped. Was it dead?

No, you could see the small rising and falling of it’s chest. (Why or how a skeleton breathed was beyond you but that wasn’t the most important thing on your mind at the moment.)  
Gingerly, you scooped up the skeleton in your hands, careful not to jostle it’s broken leg. The poor thing fit nicely in your palms, broken, beaten and unconscious. You wondered where it came from. Perhaps it was someone’s lost pet? Then again, you have yet to see anyone in the area with a skeleton monster pet. Some of your neighbours had monster pets, sure, but you were certain this one did not belong to any of them.

If it was someone’s lost pet, you were sure they had to be from another neighbourhood. Considering how scuffed up and dirty the thing was, it had been uncared for in quite a while. Maybe you should set up posters around the area. Your schedule was busy enough as it is, you would not be able to handle the care of a pet.

These thoughts ran through your head as you journeyed home, skeleton in hand. You wondered what you were going to do with it.

It was almost 12am when you got home, the garbage trip having taken longer than expected. You had to be in school by 7am tomorrow. You sighed in tired frustration.

But first you needed to make sure the tiny skeleton monster didn’t die on you. You’ve never been much of an animal person. When you were five you had some guppies… but then they all died. Still, you were going to take care of the little monster to the best of your ability.  
Upon further careful inspection, you noted that the creature had old scars and scratches all over it’s body. It was grimy and smelled a bit too. A metallic collar was bound around it’s neck, leaving no addresses, names, nor numbers to call. It did however, depict some statistics along it’s length which seemed to be a screen of some sort. It read;

ATK 1 DEF 1 HP 1/1 LV 1 EXP 34

How strange…


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heya! Name's Trinity. You can find me on...  
> tumblr: @infinitrinx  
> snapchat: @infintrinxx  
> insta: @infinitrinx  
> Drop by anytime!
> 
> Find my slave driver on...  
> tumblr: @taghashromer

The moment you woke up, you knew you were going to be late.

You hadn’t slept nearly enough. After carefully cleaning the skeleton monster that night (...early morning?) with a washcloth and some soap then setting and wrapping the bone, the clock’s hour hand had already crept well past midnight. When you woke the next morning, rushing and stumbling about trying to look presentable enough for class, you were in too much of a hurry to do anything about your new pet. Not knowing where to put the creature, you settled for leaving it wrapped up in the old blanket where it slept in your room and locking the door. Stuffing your workbook into your bag, you slammed the door behind you.

The day was uneventful, almost dully so after last night. Your mind kept slipping back to the skeleton in your closet… ok not your closet, technically your bedroom. Same difference. What were you going to do with it? You couldn’t afford a pet in the long term. You had just enough money to scrape by and even less spare time. How does one even take care of a skeleton? Does it need to eat? God you were so lost.

The school day ended soon enough, bringing with you a stack of essays to mark. Sleep deprived and drained from dealing with broody teens, your feet were dragging as you got out of your car. It took 3 tries before you successfully unlocked your front door, attention trained on your phone.

_how to care for skeleton monsters_  
_help i found a stray monster_  
_do skeleton monsters eat  
lost skeleton mons_

The door slammed behind you. The lock clicked in place.  
“hey. you’re back.”

You had dropped the stack of essays in shock. The papers fluttered to the ground, drifting like the last autumn leaves before winter. The skeleton sat on the dining table facing the front door. The blanket you had swaddled it in was draped over its tiny lap, effectively hiding its lower half from view. It appeared relaxed, both legs dangling over the edge of the table despite one being crudely wrapped in a thick layer of bandages.  
“Oh my god. You scared me, little guy.” You let out a shaky laugh, bending down to gather up the fallen papers. “How’s your leg doing, hm?”  
“let’s skip the small talk and just get straight to the point. what is it you want from me?” It asked.

You stood up from your crouch, gathering up the last of the papers.  
“What?”  
“why did you take me here? what do you want?”

Your eyes darted around the room in confusion, mind drawing a blank.  
“Uh… I want more sleep?”  
The skeleton made a disbelieving noise, narrowing its eye sockets.  
“ heh. sure. who doesn’t. ”  
It didn’t say anything further, instead opting to tug at the collar around it’s neck. You took that as your cue to leave.

Dragging yourself to your room, you changed into a more comfortable set of home clothes and got ready for a long night of marking. When you emerged into the living room, the skeleton was still on the dining table, but now lounging against the tissue box, injured leg spread out before it. It looked like so small in it’s nest of blanket, miniscule fingers fiddling with a loose thread. You wanted to pet it. It looked up at you as you approached.

“Hey little guy, how’re you feeling?” You cooed, fawning over the tiny thing, setting your papers down on the table.  
“sans. the name’s sans, kiddo.”  
“Ok then, Sansy. How’s your leg? Do you need anything?”  
“don’t… never mind, you got any ketchup?”  
You blinked, surprised. It took a moment or two before you processed the oddly specific request. The skeleton watched you expectantly.

After pouring some ketchup into small dish, you watched, intrigued, as the adorable little skeleton raised the dish to its mouth. The viscous red liquid slid slowly into it’s open mouth and a tiny blue tongue darted out to lick up the last of the ketchup. You continued to stare at the skeleton, wondering how the hell monster biology functioned and where the ketchup went. How did it have a tongue? Does it have organs? If so, where are it’s organs?

At least now you knew you had to feed it…and that it ate ketchup.

“take a picture, bud.” The skeleton droned, wiping it’s teeth with it’s forearm as it set the dish down. “don’t cha know it’s rude to stare?”  
“Uh, sorry. It’s just… Where does the food go? Do you have organs? How can you speak English? Do you only eat ketchup?” You rambled, leaning down to further inspect the monster and reaching forwards to touch it.  
“slow down there.” It said, batting away your hand. “don’t question monster biology, it all comes down to magic. trying to figure it out past that will just give you a headache. and i’m small, not stupid.”

You smiled, “Yeah of course not. I didn’t say you were, sweetie.”Your phone beeped, alerting you of a new email. Sighing, you dragged your attention back to your work.

-

Your phone would not stop buzzing. You had turned it on silent quite a while ago, the incessant pinging of notifications getting on your nerves. It was probably the teachers’ group chat. You bit your lip in irritation, determinedly forcing your eyes to remain on the essay you were grading.  
_I can also tell from how Suyuan named Jing-Mei with her lost twin daughters in mind_ **BZZT** _that she truly loved them a lot_ **BZZT** _and only left them_ **BZZT** _as a_ **BZZT** _resort.  
_

Your eye twitched.  
“hey, uh… you should probably-” Before the monster could finish its sentence your phone was in your hand, “take a look at that.”

112 new messages.  
You started with the less daunting, singular email.

Oh… Fuck.

-

To: [sim_trinity@coldmail.com](mailto:sim_trinity@coldmail.com)  
From: [thewarmestheartsadoptionccentre@coldmail.com](mailto:thewarmestheartsadoptionccentre@coldmail.com)

Topic: Formal Notice Of Warmest Hearts Childrens’ Dropout From Overtale High

_____________

To: [ tan_kerine@coldmail.com ](mailto:tan_choo_melissa@coldmail.com) , [ sim_valerie@coldmail.com ](mailto:sim_valerie@coldmail.com) , [ yukon_rei@coldmail.com ](mailto:yukon_rei@coldmail.com) , [ wei_crystal_sue@coldmail.com ](mailto:wei_crystal_sue@coldmail.com) , (see more)  
From: [ sim_trinity@coldmail.com  
](mailto:sim_trinity@coldmail.com)Topic: FWD: Formal Notice Of Warmest Hearts Childrens’ Dropout From Overtale High

_____________ 

 Mrs Sim

We are writing to you to inform you of our children’s impending departure from the family of Overtale High. Warmest Hearts Orphanage thanks you for the hospitality and learning experiences the school has shown to our children over the years.

Unfortunately, our joint programme has been cut to an early end as a result of a financial difficulties. Due to unforeseen circumstances, the orphanage would be unable to pay the necessary school fees required to further our children’s education. After extensive discussion and consideration, Warmest Hearts Orphanage has decided to withdraw all students under our care by the end of this semester.

Warmest Hearts Orphanage thanks Overtale High for the many years of collaboration and the opportunities Overtale High has given our children.

Sincerely  
Warmest Hearts Orphanage

_____________ 

Dear all

Take note of the changes made to the class rosters and arrangements. Unfortunately, our students from Warmest Hearts Orphanage will be leaving us on 26th of May.  
We will be holding a farewell ceremony for them on the 24th of May during assembly.

Mrs Sim

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Plot picks up in the next chapter please bear with me. I just can't stand posting such huge chunks at a time.  
> Also, can anyone guess who we'll be seeing in school?  
> Thanks for reading! Feel free to scream at me in the comments, maybe leave a kudos if you're generous?
> 
> Love,  
> Trin


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heya! Name's Trinity. You can find me on...  
> tumblr: @infinitrinx  
> snapchat: @infintrinxx  
> insta: @infinitrinx  
> Drop by anytime!
> 
> Find my slave driver on...  
> tumblr: @taghashromer

School was hell the next day.  
It was obvious the kids from the orphanage had heard the news, nearly half of them didn’t turn up for classes. After all, what was the point if they were all dropping out in a few months?

You stared forlornly at the empty seats in your class. Jacob, Marina, Steph, Li Hui, Kira and Tong En were no show. You put on a smile for the sake of the remaining children. Something needed to be done, the school can’t just give up on them! The quality of these kid’s futures were in the balance here. Emotion seized you as you continued the lesson, steeling your resolve further. You weren’t giving up on them, you couldn’t.

The school bell chimed cheerfully, signalling the end of your period. Stepping out of the classroom, you called Frisk over. Shoving their pencil case in their bag hastily, they were bounding over before they had even finished zipping up their bag.

“I assume you heard about the announcement?” You said, not bothering to beat around the bush.  
Frisk nodded.  
“How’re you holding up?”  
They shrugged. Fair enough.  
“How long has the orphanage been struggling with money?”  
Frisk reached into their pocket for their phone. After a moment of typing, your phone buzzed.  
Frisk: about half a year, maybe more. im not very sure when it started... but I know that the donations stopped coming in suddenly and we’ve been struggling ever since

Your phone buzzed again.  
Frisk: btw, don’t tell mdm tang, were not supposed to know these things

You shot Frisk a curious look, a brow raised.  
**BZZT  
** Frisk: i was eavesdropping

You laughed aloud at their reddened expression, guiltily smiling at you.  
“Okay, okay. I won’t tell.”

Frisk ducked their head in relief, giggling slightly too. You laid a gentle hand on their shoulder, heart aching at the thought of not seeing them in class next term.  
“Hey, I know times are tough right now, more so than usual,” you paused, making sure to catch Frisk’s gaze, “but you know I’m here if you ever need anything, yeah? Don’t hesitate to ask me.”  
You gave their shoulder a reassuring squeeze, glancing at the clock behind them. You shouldn’t take too much of their time or they might be late for the next period.  
“You should get to the next class soon.”

Releasing your grip, you were about to head back inside to grab your things when Frisk surprised you with a tight hug. The ends of their short cropped hair tickling your collarbone. Just as quickly, Frisk stepped back with a smile and a wave before running off to their next class.

A steady certainty settled into your bones, burdening itself like a crown. It was kids like Frisk who made teaching worthwhile. And you’d fight tooth and nail before you let their education be ripped from them. Your love for your students and the unfairness of their situation filled you with determination.

-

Despite being held down by worksheets to mark and your new budding project, you swung by Creature’s Cove on your way home, feeling kind of bad that you’ve been unable to spend much time with Sans. The poor thing was injured after all, it required more attention than you were giving it.

Stepping into the shop, you were greeted by a bored looking cashier who tore himself away from his phone to step out from behind the counter.  
“Anything I can help you with?”  
“Uh, yeah. Do you have anything for skeleton type monsters?”

You left the shop with a lighter wallet and an armful of new supplies. The plastic bags hanging from your arm dug slightly into your flesh, leaving red lines on your forearm. In it contained a new collar, a leash, a cage, a small dog bed, cans of monster food and several sets of tiny clothing. The shop clerk told you it was fine to continue to feed the skeleton human food too but it would truly only get nourishment from the monster food provided. Since monster pets were relatively new, there had yet to be veterinarian clinics set up for them. According to the clerk, the care you were already providing would be the best it would receive.

On the drive home, you hummed along to the pop song on the radio, scheming up ways to help raise money for the orphanage. Honestly, it was quite odd for donations to stop entirely all at once. You worried for the quality of the care the kids there might have. Were they eating enough? Did they have enough basic supplies?

Whatever it was, you were determined to help them. Especially Frisk.

Frisk was a wonderful student, bright, intelligent and playful. In the two years that you’ve been teaching them, they have always been a delight to have in class. You never had to chase them for assignments or homework. True, it was quite odd that they refused to speak even though they could, you managed to work around that. After your first intervention with a bullying case, Frisk had become increasingly affectionate towards you. It wasn’t long before they had wormed their way into your heart as if they had always been there.

Frisk was a child with an astounding spirit. When they had their eyes set on something, it would be practically impossible to stop them. The sentiment would be akin to sweeping sand off a beach.  
Perhaps you should enlist their help with the fundraising project… With their unwavering will and creativity, your chances at making this project work would sky rocket. Not to mention you could use the excuse of it being a student-initiated project to persuade the principal.

Ideas whirring in your head, you practically skipped through your front door, excited for a productive evening. Locking your door behind you, you called out to the empty living room.  
“Sansy? I’m home.”  
No response.

After a moment of scouring around, you found the skeleton sitting on the couch. Scattered around it was several screws. Green and red wires stuck out of a panel in its collar, the deep green of a circuit board glowing vaguely against the dark metal. Sans froze, staring at you with what you could only describe as fear.

“Hey, sweetheart. What’re you doing there?” You asked, walking towards it. The skeleton shrunk back as you approached. Some of the wires were cut and exposed, twisting out like snakes from a hole. They looked sharp. “Are you alright?”

Sans flinched back as you made to grasp at its collar, trying to understand what it was doing. The collar was still functioning, statistics displayed clear as day. It was just the small side panel it had pried open. You wondered if it was uncomfortable.  
“Can I take this off?”

“no! you can’t,” Sans exclaimed, roughly pushing your fingers away, “it’ll dust me.”  
Dust?  
“What do you mean by dust?”  
Sans scowled, craning its head to fiddle with the circuit board again.  
“just don’t take it off.”

Well then, looks like you wasted a good $15 on a new collar.

“I got some stuff for you. Here, take a look.”  
You emptied the bags of pet supplies, taking each item out one by one. Sans scrambled for the clothes, the blanket it slept in still wrapped around its hips. When you took out the leash and cage, however, the monster leapt to its feet, baring its teeth in a sneer.  
“what the fuck are those?”

Surprised and confused by its reaction, an indignation sprouted at the back of your mind.  
“I-I bought these for you!”  
“gee thanks, buddy. but guess what? you just wasted your cash. you can keep these and shove em where the moon don’t shine.”

Anger roiled like an ugly beast. How care this monster speak to you like this? You’ve done nothing but help it ever since you found it. You could have left it to die at the side of the road! You didn’t have to bring it home, nor bathe it, nor treat it, nor feed it. You even spent about a hundred bucks on this thing and it didn’t even care?  
“I’m sorry,” you said, the coldness in your voice a stark contrast to the heat of your anger, “what did you say?”

“you heard me, bud. get dunked on.”  
You inhaled sharply, feeling a flush wash over you like the tide.  
“You’re an ungrateful little brat, you know? What did I do to deserve this, huh? I’ve been nothing but nice to you and you’re still a giant pest. This is my house. You’re under my care. You have no right to act like this or speak to me that way!’

“listen, i don’t care who you are. you do not own me, ok? y o u  d o  n o t  o w n  m e.” Sans said, jabbing its finger at you. “i’m not your pet and the only reason i’m still here is because of my damn leg.”

“You what? But I thought…” You started, only to be interrupted by the fuming skeleton.  
“i don’t care what you think, buddy. i don’t exist for your entertainment and i’m _sick_ of being treated like some lesser being by you **_humans._** ” It spat, cringing on the last word like it left a bad taste in its mouth.

Silence hung in the air like a physical weight. Sans’ chest heaved in anger, hands clenching and unclenching. You stared at each other for what seemed like an eternity or two. Your jaw clicked as you ground your teeth together, deciding on how you were going to deal with the situation.

In one quick movement, you grabbed the bare skeleton, the blanket having fallen in its rage, and shoved it into the cage it was so angry about. You ignored its rattling protests, carrying the cage to your bedroom. You glanced at the clock, it was 8:20pm. You’d let it out when you went to sleep. You read once that this was how pet owners trained their animals.

In the meantime, you had work to get done.

-

Despite having your good mood drained from you, it was a productive evening.  
After you finished marking the latest sets of worksheets, you set onto planning for your fundraising event. It had to be cheap and not bring any expense to the school and as cliche as it was, you settled on hosting a charity car wash. You’d tell Frisk about your plan tomorrow.  
Right now, you needed to check on the skeleton.

It was almost 11pm by now. You felt kinda bad for leaving Sans inside for so long, but still.  
You padded to the bedroom, your door swinging open with a gentle creak. It was dark in the room and you thought you heard Sans murmuring. You left the light off, he was probably asleep.

It was late, might as well go to sleep now. You went to the washroom to clean up, doubling back to the living room to retrieve Sans’ blanket, bed, and clothes. It was only when you were settling into bed that you felt something amiss.

Sans was whimpering in its cage, bones clanking against the metal in an unpleasant sound. His breaths came in quick pants, muttering incomprehensible things under its breath. You approached the cage, wary. The skeleton lay huddled in a corner, curled up on itself. It appeared to be having a bad dream. You heart softened.

Unlatching the door of the cage, you reached in cradle him in your hand, careful not to jostle the injured leg. Somehow, it appeared to be sweating. You ran a thumb across its skull, soothing it gently.  
“Sans, wake up. Hey, it’s alright sweetheart. Wake up, Sansy.”

The monster jolted awake, taking in it’s surroundings before tensing further. The pinpricks of light in its eyes focused on you.  
“You okay, little guy?” You cooed, continuing to stroke it’s skull.  
It continued to stare at you for several more moments before finally responding, “yeah.”

You set Sans down on your bed, bringing him a set of mini clothes.  
“Here. Put these on.” You said, passing him a tiny sweater and shorts before arranging the blanket on its bed, which looked more like a dog bed than anything.  
Sliding under your own covers, you watched as the now dressed Sans climbed down your mattress.

Sitting down onto the cushion of his bed, Sans clutched at his blanket, looking rather lost. You flicked off the lamp by your bed, washing the room in darkness once more.  
“Goodnight Sans.” You yawned.

“...”  
“ ... ”  
“ ... ”

“night.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please don't hate me and please don't hate Reader it will get better I promise.  
> Also, does anybody know if AO3 allows different fonts?  
> I actually have all of Sans' speech written in comic sans but unfortunately, it did not translate over when I pasted the chapter over into AO3.
> 
> As usual, feel free to disturb me on any of my social media, comment any and all opinions, and maybe leave a kudos?  
> Thank you for reading <3  
> Love,  
> Trin.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heya! Name's Trinity. You can find me on...  
> tumblr: @infinitrinx  
> snapchat: @infintrinxx  
> insta: @infinitrinx  
> Drop by anytime!
> 
> Find my slave driver on...  
> tumblr: @taghashromer

Having properly compiled the nitty gritty details and settled the logistics, you texted Frisk to come find you during their recess, hoping they’d agree to take up the project. Drumming your fingers against the canteen table, you sipped some Milo, waiting for the school bell to ring. It shouldn’t be long now.

Soon enough, the bell chimed and students began swarming into the canteen. You eyed the crowd, looking for Frisk.  
**_BZZT  
_** Frisk: just ended class. can i go get food first?  
You: of cos

Setting your phone down, you went to shuffle through the small stack of papers again, reading over the proposal. The plan was sound. The charity car wash would cost the school nothing and even help students gain community service hours. You were almost certain the principal would agree to support the project. Your only concern was how many students would be willing to help out with the project.

A bowl of noodles was put in front of you. Frisk swung their legs over the bench, giving you a cheerful wave in greeting.  
“Good morning, Frisk. Do you want to finish eating first before we begin?” You asked politely, using your ‘teacher voice’.

They gestured one hand in a go on motion, the other busy stuffing noodles into their mouth with a pair of chopsticks. You spread the papers out before them, explaining as you did so.  
“Frisk, I want to help the orphanage.” You began. Their eyes snapped up to look at you. “I’m planning on kickstarting a charity car wash event to help raise funds for the orphanage. I was wondering if you would like to help me with the organising? You’ll get community service hours of course. What do you say?”

Frisk swallowed their bite of food, nodding vigorously. They help up a finger, pulling out their phone.  
**_BZZT  
_ ** Frisk: what do u need me to do?

After explaining briefly to Frisk the schematics of the plan, the school bell rang again, signaling the end of recess. Both of you gathered up your belongings, preparing for the next class.  
“Frisk, can you come find me again after school? We’ll continue our discussion then.”  
**_BZZT  
_ ** Frisk: ok. c u!

-

Your feet hurt slightly from standing so much during lessons. Zoe had yet to hand in her homework...all of her homework. Percy lost his form again or at least claimed to. After the long school day, you still had to stay back to meet up with Frisk.

You munched on the pastry in your hand, continuing to mark the assignment before you. At least you were halfway through the week.  
**BZZT**  
Frisk: hi! i’m done with class. where do i meet u?  
You: staffroom. ill wait for you outside.

You sighed, shutting down your computer and gathering the necessary items.  
The air was slightly warmer outside than inside the air-conditioned staff room. Taking off your sweater, you settled down at one of the empty tables in the area.

You heard Frisk before you saw them, the jingling of their many keychains and mementos on their schoolbag tinkling down the hallway like a cat’s bell. You’d teased them about it once, wondering why on earth the child had such a ridiculous excess of bag charms. They’d simply grinned and showed you their favourite ones, a small wishbone dangling from a silver chain, what looked like a tiny calculator on a unicycle, the logo MTT branded across in hot pink cursive and for some reason, a glass vial of water.

They swung their bag over their shoulder, dumping it on the seat next to them before settling into it themselves.  
**BZZT  
** Frisk: um can i ask a favor of u?

You frowned, concern seeping into your voice, “Of course, Frisk. Anything.”  
**BZZT**  
Frisk: i’ve got a bunch of ideas n suggestions too. But we still hv to discuss d original plan  
Frisk: d bus to d orphanage leaves arnd 5, im afraid ill miss it

You smiled, knowing what was coming, “Would you like a ride back?”  
They looked at you, biting their lip. Your phone buzzed again.  
Frisk: yes please  
“Don’t worry about it okay? If you ever stay back and need a ride, you can ask me. It’s no issue at all.” You said, reassuring the teen.  
Beaming gratefully, they signed one of the few things you understood.  
_Thank you.  
_

You smiled, shaking your head in fondness.  
“Well then, let’s get started, shall we?”

-

It was quite late by the time your discussion concluded. At some point, you had shifted the planning to the canteen so that you and Frisk could buy some dinner. At your insistence, you paid for their meal too. You restrained an eye roll and they proceeded to order the least expensive food item available.

In the half day since your discussion, Frisk had evidently put a significant amount of thought into the project. They proposed holding a bake sale and donation drive in addition to the charity carwash. They even went into great detail of the logistics involved, who they could enlist for help and more. Despite being immensely impressed, you had to be realistic.  
“Frisk, these are a lot of events, some even really large scale.”  
Frisk: we can do it!  
“Are you sure you’re not taking on more than you can handle?”  
Frisk: nope. i know we can do this.  
“But Frisk…”

Eventually, you gave in and reluctantly agreed on the condition that they’d only attempt the secondary projects if the car wash was successful. A gleam in their eye, their fingers flew over the keyboard. Your phone buzzed in your hands.  
Frisk: it will be.

You explained to Frisk how you needed their help for the car wash, that you were concerned about a lack of response from the students. After throwing some ideas back and forth, it was concluded that Frisk would rally up student attention before they approached the principal with the proposal. When they had a minimum of 50 willing participating students, you’d go to the higher ups together.

Glancing at the clock, you were surprised to see it was almost 8pm. Hastily, you both packed up and began heading back. The school wasn’t quite empty as several other teachers continued to mill around in their offices. Still, it was vacant enough to make you uncomfortable. Frisk hardly seemed bothered, though. Then again, nothing ever seemed to phase the child. Even in the face of small-minded bullies or discriminating adults, they were always forgiving and cheerful.

When you reached your car, you felt heat creep into your cheeks upon remembering how much of a slob you were. Whoops, there goes your teacher-esque facade of Functional Adult. You hauled stacks of textbooks and papers out from the shotgun seat, dumping it behind where you were too ashamed to even look at the mess. Dusting off the seat, you turned to Frisk, forcing a grin.  
“Alright! Hop in!” Ah shit, that sounded way too forced.

Either way, Frisk barely seemed to mind, startling out of what seemed to be a daydream to buckle themselves in. Pulling out of Overtale High, you drove in what was perhaps an awkward silence. Your cheeks burned, mentally noting to spring clean your car soon.

You were about to say something to Frisk when you realised they were signing discreetly. You looked away.  
They did this sometimes, spacing out and rambling on in ASL. You wondered what they were saying. In general, Frisk was a bright student despite having many of these episodes where they stared off into the distance, seemingly conversing with someone.

It was what the meaner students had teased them about before. Or at least one of the things. Frisk had been pushed around for being selectively mute and insisting on gender neutral pronouns. Most kids were accepting of it. Unfortunately, some of the students and most of the adults scoffed at both. Since you intervened, such incidents were rarer. At least, to your knowledge. Frisk wouldn’t tattle even on their bullies.

Suddenly, a drizzle developed around you, dark clouds hanging in the sky like a swarm of bees. You hated the rain. As if sensing your distaste, the heavens suddenly opened into a defiant downpour, pounding down against the roof of your car like bullets. You stole a glance into the wreck of your back seat. A purple and blue umbrella lay propped up on its side, drawing a sigh of relief from you.

Frisk had stopped signing a while ago and instead went to gaze out the window at passing cars. At a red light, a toddler in the car next to Frisk began staring at them. They waved, pulling a face, and the kid began laughing in delight. You smiled, fingers drumming along to the beat of the song on the radio.

Unfortunately, there were no parking spaces available near the orphanage and you were forced to pull over a small distance away. You walked Frisk to the orphanage, keeping them close with an arm wrapped around their shoulder. Your side was getting wet.

It was about 9pm by the time you shuffled your way to the shelter of the orphanage. Both of you were slightly damp, you more so than Frisk. The caretaker rushed forward to greet you at the door.  
“Thank you for bringing Frisk back safely. Please, come in.” He said, ushering you inside.  
“It’s no issue,” you replied, folding your umbrella, “thank you for letting them stay back in school a bit later.”

Frisk bounded off, disappearing up a staircase after waving a farewell.  
“Ah yes, Frisk told me you were working on a project with her?” The caretaker gestured towards a small sitting area wedged into a corner. Taking the hint, you went over to take a seat on the couch. It was slightly lumpy.  
“Yes, about that. Is Mrs Nonis in? I’d like to speak with her if it’s not inconvenient.”  
The caretaker cracked his knuckles as he wrung his hands, “I’ll go check for you.”

The man retreated down the hall. When he left through a doorway, you checked your phone.  
9:26pm  
What a long day.

The caretaker returned, a woman following close behind, Mrs Nonis you presumed. She was a tall woman, brown eyes warm and comforting. Her dreads swung with her skirt as she walked, elegant and relaxed all at once. You immediately decided you liked her.  
“Hi, you must be my children’s teacher? It is nice to meet you.” She said, reaching out a hand to shake. You stood to shake her hand. She had a firm grip.  
“Thank you for giving me your time, Mrs Nonis.” You smiled, settling back down onto the seat.  
“Please, call my Francine.”

“I understand it is quite late, and I’m sorry for the suddenness of it, but I was hoping I could talk to you about your kids.” You said, biting your lip. Yikes speaking so formally was physically painful. Mrs Nonis… Francine, however, immediately perked up at that, dismissing the caretaker with a gentle nod and thanks.  
“Ah yes, what about? They are all behaving, yes?”

You pondered how to phrase the situation without offending her.  
“Yes, of course… I… Actually, Frisk and I were discussing today. We have yet to confirm the plans, but we are working on a project to try raise funds for the children here to continue their education. Like I said, we have yet to solidify anything, but I want to let you know that I’m willing to do anything I can to help.”

Francine rested a hand on yours, sighing.  
“Thank you so much. That really means a lot.” She looked away, hesitantly. “We… are having a hard time on the financial side of things. I’m not quite sure what happened, but suddenly most of our main benefactors stopped providing us with funds. We try to scrape by, but I’m worried that we might not be able to cater to the kids’ needs if we continue to spend so much on school fees.”

You remained in comfortable silence for several moments, listening to the sound of rain pattering as you pondered the gravity of the situation.  
“Francine, how much are you in need of?”  
“...”  
“Ten grand.”  
You inhaled sharply, gritting your teeth. Francine laughed.  
“Yeah, I know. Aside from school fees, we have to fund pocket money, travel fees, study supplies… Then there’s still the actual orphanage to maintain.”

You sighed, taking in the environment. It was a decently sized space, maybe just slightly cramped. Everything was obviously old and worn from years of usage. The paint had faded from its original blue, turning a dirty grey. The front desk was scratched and hunched under the weight of many many stacks of paper. The couch you both sat on was scratchy, just a tad hard too. You had to sit a certain way to prevent a spring from jamming into your left buttock. From what you guessed, the orphanage still had 2 floors above you.  
Overall, the place wasn’t dilapidated but it could definitely use some sprucing up. Nonetheless, it was clean, it was safe, it was functional. You were glad the children had a person like Francine to look after them.

You met Francine’s gaze, eyeing her softly, you told her with as much conviction as you can, “Francine, I will try my best to help you and the kids.”  
The woman smiled, genuinely and warmly, “Thank you. I’m glad my kids have someone like you to teach them.”

You blushed, laughing nervously. Wasn’t that basically what you were thinking of her? How do you even reply to that? A thank you would sound insufficient, conceited even. Do you compliment her back? Shit.

Thankfully, Francine picked up the conversation again, saving you from spouting what would probably an embarrassing half-baked response.

“So, tell me about these plans you and Frisk have.”

By the time you finished explaining everything, reiterating that “These are just plans, nothing has been confirmed yet.”, your eyes had begun to itch and your head felt slightly heavy. Stealing a glance at the time, you felt your gut clench in uneasiness at the sight of the hour hand resting blatantly on 11. Francine must have realised it too, or perhaps she had seen your change in mood, for she sent you off with a hug and an invitation to come back anytime you wanted.

It was still raining when you stepped outside, opening your umbrella with a swish and a click. You shivered in the chilly wind, blowing rain onto your side despite the umbrella. You hurried down the block, feet splashing in small puddles and making your shoes uncomfortably damp. Goddamn wind, goddamn rain, goddamn parking.

You were walking past the quiet neighbourhood, grumbling quietly to yourself when you heard the rapid splashing of feet behind you. Poor guy, probably got caught in the rain. You slowed down, allowing him to get closer.  
“Hey! You wanna share my-”

The man grabbed your bag as he passed by, tugging it hard enough that you were afraid your shoulder might have been sprained. Your umbrella fell to the ground, the wind propelling it away.

“Hey!” You yelled, shocked. Somehow, you managed to grab the end of your bag as he tried to run with his prize. You wrested it back from him, trying to kick the snatch thief in the shin. He drew back and threw his fist at you, blond hair plastered to his sneering face. The punch landed on your nose, erupting pain which was somehow sharp and dull all at once. Your hands flew up to cover your face, only to cause you to fly backwards from the momentum of letting go so suddenly and from the punch. Your head hit the pavement, spraying stars across your field of vision. You curled in on yourself, bracing for the worst. A heavy boot hit your side once, twice, three times. The attacks ceased. Vaguely, you heard the man’s pattering footsteps getting further and further.

The rain continued to come down, falling like constant reminders to get up, _get up,_ **_get up_ ** ! A shiver ran through you. You slowly pushed yourself up onto your elbows, stomach lurching. You forced yourself to focus on the pavement, noting the cracks and patterns in the cement. You breathed heavily, blinking water (tears? rain?) out of your eyes. Droplets clung to the tips of your nose and lips, as though desperate not to let go. You raised a hand to wipe them away, cringing back hard when the back of your palm brushed your nose.  
Fuck.

You managed to sit up right, looking around for anyone to help. The streets were still empty, all the windows dark. Should you head back to the orphanage? No, your car was right there. Fuck, if only you hadn’t stopped. Slowly, you edged your way to your car, thanking all the gods you could think of that you always kept your phone and car keys in your pockets.

You collapsed into the driver’s seat, clothing squelching slightly against the leather. You were shivering slightly, trembling hands fumbling before successfully sliding the car key into the ignition. With the car started, you immediately turned on the heat, relaxing slightly when you felt it wash over you.

What a shitty day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone!  
> The chapters just get longer and longer don't they? I'm actually in the middle of my GCE O levels so like send good vibes pls. Next chapter will be short and sweet. Let the character development commence!
> 
> As always, kudos, comment, share! If you feel like this deserves it.  
> Help unsuck my writing with criticism! I'd love any tips or review.  
> Till next chapter,  
> Trin <3


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heya! Name's Trinity. You can find me on...  
> tumblr: @infinitrinx  
> snapchat: @infintrinxx  
> insta: @infinitrinx  
> Drop by anytime!
> 
> Find my slave driver on...  
> tumblr: @taghashromer

Somehow, you managed to make the drive home despite the pain in your nose steadily building to a pulsing ache. Every time you moved your face or breathed through your nose particularly hard, the ache flared up to a sharp agony. You managed to limp your way to the front door (your ankle had also twisted when you fell, although you only noticed it when you pressed your foot on the breaks), looking utterly pathetic. You were about to reach for your house keys when you realised they were inside your bag. The bag which is god knows where by now. Groaning, you slid down the door, exhausted beyond belief. 

There was a rapid tapping at the door. You pressed your ear against it.  
“bud, is that you? are you there?” Sans’ muffled voice called through the wood. You nearly sobbed in relief.  
“Sans! Oh thank god, holy shit. I don’t have my keys, I can’t get in. I...” Your hope fizzled and died. How was a tiny skeleton supposed to help you?  
“hold on a sec.” 

Silence. It lasted for one heartbeat, then another. Anxiety coiled in the pit of your stomach.  
“Sans? Are you still here?” You called, straining against your door, trying to hear him. 

There was a click, then the door came swinging inward, causing you to nearly fall forwards. You caught yourself just in time, practically crawling inside before shutting the door behind you. You leaned against the wood, cringing as a wave of pain emanated from your nose.  
“holy shit.” You heard Sans say quietly.

Closing your eyes, you scrunched your face while leaning forewards, breathing through your mouth. What a night. You just wanted to rest, ready to sleep right there and then. You felt Sans climb up onto your right thigh, a bony hand on your stomach to steady himself. 

He shifted some of your hair away from your face. You pried your eyes open at the gesture. The monster looked up at you in the darkness of the living room, pinpricks of light darting over your injury. Was it concerned? Confused? You felt small tinge of affection bubble up in you.  
“you okay, kid?” Sans asked. The edge of your mouth quirked upwards at the nickname. You nodded your head slightly, careful not to jostle yourself. The room spun slightly. You allowed your eyes to slip close again.  
“what happened?”  
“Snatch thief. I tried to fight back and,” you laughed quietly, “whoops.” 

Your clothes still stuck to your skin uncomfortably, the rain dripping off you probably forming a puddle. But your thoughts were fuzzy, as though someone shoved cotton wool into your brain. You were out of the rain, in a safe and familiar place. Your breathing began to slow.  
“hey,” Sans tugged sharply at your hair, forcing you back into wakefulness, “don’t fall asleep on me, bud.” 

With some effort, your eyes fluttered open.  
“i mean, usually i’m all for sleeping wherever and whenever you want. but ya gotta at least get out of these wet clothes, kay?”  
You hummed a vague response and Sans hopped off your lap. When you didn’t move, he tugged at your hand, lightly.

Realising the little monster was not going to stop pestering you until you complied, you forced yourself to stand, falling against the wall for support when the room appeared to pitch to the left. The skeleton continued to watch you, keeping several steps ahead of you as you staggered to the bedroom.

The door locked itself behind you.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Turns out all it took was a near death experience for Sans to warm up to you, eh?  
> Don't worry, your relationship only gets better from here. Probably.
> 
> Till next chapter!!!!!!!  
> Trin


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heya! Name's Trinity. You can find me on...  
> tumblr: @infinitrinx  
> snapchat: @infintrinxx  
> insta: @infinitrinx  
> Drop by anytime!
> 
> Find my slave driver on...  
> tumblr: @taghashromer

You came to slowly, awareness wading through a viscous ocean of sweet, sleepy syrup. You weren’t sure when was the exact moment you landed upon the shore of consciousness, content to remain adrift in the void between sleep and wakefulness.

Vaguely, you registered the scratchy surface of your duvet, created by your ambling attempt at embroidery from way back when, against the bare skin of your calf. There was a rhythmic buzzing sound, soft and muffled, humming its song every once in awhile. Warmth seeped into your skin, stroking calmness into limbs too heavy to move. The warmth developed into a light, illuminating darkness into red behind your eyelids.

Eyes fluttered open, struggling against crusted lashes. You blinked against the column of light streaming through your half closed curtains, raising a hand to shield yourself. Your arm felt like lead, your side aching tenderly from the motion. You spied several bruises, peppering your forearms like ink drops on a canvas. What the hell?  
You stared at them for a moment, turning your arm over and over in morbid fascination. Prodding at a particularly purple bruise, you bit back a hiss at the pain. You made to rub your eyes, only for your nose to explode into agony upon contact with your hand. 

The events of last night rushed back to you, more effective than a dousing in cold water, as you shot up in bed, all trace of drowsiness gone. Except, you immediately flopped back down, the dull ache in your side burning like a red hot clamp was squeezing your ribs together. You gritted your teeth, screwing up your face against the pain. Of course, that made your nose worse. Fanfuckingtastic.

You were forced to lie back down completely, urging your body to relax. You breathed heavily, gasping as though air might have pain relieving properties. When the pain finally subsided, you noted a tickling sensation running down your right temple. Reaching up (slowly, carefully), your hand came away wet.

What time was it? Shit, you had really overslept.  
You attempted to sit up again, pushing yourself into a sitting position as slow as you could tolerate. Your side burned, your nose throbbed, your entire body had a dull ache and the room seemed to spin ever so slightly. You closed your eyes to focus on your breath.

When the room had decided to take a chill pill, your attention was drawn to your phone, buzzing incessantly from where it had been shoved under a smaller pillow. The HOD was gonna have your head. Somewhat hesitantly, you thumbed the home button of your phone.

(14) Missed Calls  
Richard ;P : where r you?  
Richard ;P : r you coming in today?  
Jul: Hi, good morning. Are you coming to school today? Please remember to notify me if you are not, especially in the future.  
Richard ;P : juliet is pissed btw, you didnt even call in  
Richard ;P : dude.  
Richard ;P : r you okay?  
Pei: hey i covered yr class for u. u ok?  
Frisk: y didnt u turn up for lessons  
Frisk: where r u r u ok?  
Frisk: pls reply :((((  
Frisk: ????  
Frisk: ?????????????  
Frisk: im gonna keep spamming until u reply  
Frisk: ?  
Frisk: ?  
Frisk: ?  
Frisk: ?  
The rest of the messages continued on in a similar fashion, cutting off at 11:30am which you knew to be the end of Frisk’s recess.

You scrolled through the notifications again, procrastinating actually unlocking your phone. The sheer number of messages overwhelming you, making it difficult to even open the application to reply to them. You hovered above the last digit of your passcode before forcing your thumb down.  
Functional Adult. You got this. 

You were slowly replying to the messages when a small flash of blue made you look up. Sans sat at the foot of your bed, leaning back against the wooden footboard.  
“heya.”  
Gratitude for the small skeleton prompted you to scoot over close enough to stroke his skull. He peeked up at you with one eye, allowing the gesture for several moments before pushing you off. You let your hand be moved pliantly, resting it between you such that you leaned forward on it for support, the other still clutching your phone.  
“Thanks for helping out last night,” you said, wincing slightly when your side pinched.  
Sans gave you a once over before sliding his eye closed again, shrugging. 

Bracing yourself, you stood shakily, your head pounding slightly. Your knuckles faded to white as you gripped the frame of your bed, swaying slightly. When you felt steady enough, you began a tentative journey to the kitchen.

Your head felt bad, your nose even more so. You have yet to gather the courage to look at yourself in the mirror. Grabbing the nearest hand towel, you made a makeshift icepack by stuffing copious amounts of ice into the thin material before bunching the ends up. The coldness stung your skin as you gingerly pressed the ice to your definitely swollen nose. With your free hand, you poured yourself a glass of water, spilling only slightly.

You sank into the couch before your knees could give out under you, continuing the chore of returning the messages. The school day was basically halfway over, there was no point in hurrying there now. You explained the situation repetitively to various concerned parties, soothing your aches until the ice had melted into nothing but dampness.  
You saved Frisk’s messages for last. 

You: hey frisk, i’m okay don’t worry.  
_**BZZT**_  
Their reply came almost instantly.  
Frisk: r u sure  
You: yea  
Frisk: r u sure????????  
You: Frisk why are you texting during class dont make me report you  
Their messages stopped coming in. You snickered, cringing at the twinge of pain the movement caused. 

Dumping the dripping rag onto the dining table, you decided you felt well enough to try for a shower (honestly, you didn’t but the sticky itch of your skin felt absolutely intolerable). Stepping into the small toilet, you began peeling off your clothes, hurting and aching in every way possible. You stared at yourself in the mirror. Yikes.

Ruddy red splotches, each as large as your fist, bloomed at your side, sprouting like flowers fuelled by a corpse. You could clearly make out where each of the mugger’s kicks landed. You trailed a finger at the tapering end of the lowest bruise, feeling the deep pulling ache with each breath. You laid your palm against the bruising, steadily applying more and more pressure just to test your limits. The ache reared its head in a snarl, suddenly sinking its sharp teeth into your flesh. You tore your hand away, hissing.

Next, you leaned into the mirror, inspecting the damage done to your nose. It was definitely crooked, tilted slightly to the left. There was a faint smattering of blue bruising just beside the flesh of your nose. But you were most astounded by how swollen it was, the entire right of your face, puffy and tinged red. Your right eye especially had swollen halfway shut, the bridge of your nose soft and jellylike to the touch. There was a small cut around your right cheekbone.

You felt the top of your head, threading fingers through grimy hair. A lump had developed there, raised and tender to the touch. After some nudging and prodding, you discerned it to be about the circumference of a golf ball.

Finally stepping into the shower, you clicked your jaw in sudden frustration, anger boiling in your gut against the man who stole your bag. He took your wallet, your keys, your dignity. He hurt you and left you and people like him didn’t deserve to walk away without consequences. Something icy breathed down your neck, thinking about how close that predator’s hunting grounds were to the orphanage. You were almost glad you had been the victim and not someone else like Frisk or Francine, or any of the children there for that matter.

Warm water eased the knots in your beaten body, sinking comfort into the tense muscle. You dragged up every dredge of your memory, straining to remember as many details of him as possible. You’d be damned before you let him touch any of the kids.

The snatch thief was definitely taller than you, maybe about 10cm? You weren’t sure. He had short cropped blond hair, shaved on his right side. You remember staring into his blue-grey eyes as you fought for your bag. You drew a smiley face on the steamed glass, replaying the event again and again. Was he wearing a blue or purple muscle tee? The rain and the fast pace of the occurrence made it difficult to discern. You thought harder, breathing in the steamy air. You thought he had a tattoo on his left…? No, right arm. A broken upside down heart, torn down the middle. What else? Come on, there had to be more. Scars? Birthmarks? Facial structure?  
You needed more details if your police report was going to be of any use. 

As hard as you pushed yourself, nothing new was revealed. It all happened too quickly, one moment blurring into the other, clouded by pain and panic. You had finished your shower by now, stepping out with your towel wrapped around yourself. You padded to the room, uncaring of the puddles forming in wake of your footsteps. Not like they wouldn’t dry on their own anyways.

Sans was in the same position as when you left him, chest rising and falling gently under the fluffy buffer of his tiny oversized hoodie. You made sure to step lightly as you gathered your clothes, drawing the blinds tighter before draping your damp towel on a chair, changing into your clothes. It took you awhile before you successfully edged the shirt over your head, holding your breath against the ache in your ribs.

Right then, you had to make a trip to the police station to make a report then head to the drugstore to pick up some painkillers. You almost went to search for your bag before you remembered.  
Oh, right. 

Your keys were missing too, so you needed to go to the locksmiths as well. Oh shit, all your identification, your credit cards! Your hand flew to your phone, thumbing frantically through your contacts. You needed to call the bank, tell them to suspend your cards. What about your ID card? What were you even going to do about that?  
Goddammit adulting is hard. 

By the time you had settled the matters to the best of your ability, exhaustion had begun to creep in. Phone call after phone call, using your ‘professional voice’, the interactions had begun to take a toll on you. Lying down on the sofa, you decided you’d take a short nap before heading out.

-

The doorbell rang, several times.  
Five hard knocks were added for good measure.You stirred before processing that someone was at your door, then scrambling up from the couch. What time was it? It seemed like you were asking yourself that question alot recently. The sky framed by your window appeared dark.

You stirred  before processing that someone was at your door, then scrambling up from the couch. What time was it? The sky framed by your window appeared dark.  
“I’m coming!” You yelled, after clearing your throat, voice hoarse from sleep. Turning the lock, you threw open the door in a haste.  
Then you froze, confused. 

In your doorway stood a conglomeration of people, bearing flowers, cards or an assortment of both. A chorus of “Surprise!” rang out, before a tangle of arms and warm bodies crashed into you. You winced slightly, recoiling from contact with your injured side.

The body closest to you noticed, stepping back immediately and quickly ushering the rest to do so. Frisk beamed up at you, shoving a card into your hands. They hand obviously drawn it themselves, the front covering showing a tastefully sketched flower, it’s blue hue splattered on in watercolour paint. You traced a finger across the design, looking up to your students who had come to visit you.

Amongst them were a mix-match of students from various classes, although the majority of them were students under the care of the orphanage. You noticed Francine lingering at the back of the crowd, smiling warmly at you. She held a tray in her hands.

“I… Uh, hi! Everyone, this is…”, warmth crept over you, happiness bubbling like champagne, tinkling and light and you just might burst right there and then, “I-I wasn’t expecting anyone. I… thank you.”

There was a scramble of activity as the children handed you gifts, mostly Get Well Soon cards. You stood in your doorway, flustered and arms laden with gifts. Your arms were beginning to get tired. You shook your head, nudging the door open with a shoulder.  
“Please, everyone come in. Make yourselves at home.”

You led the way, stopping by the dining table to relieve your arms of the collection of heartwarming presents. You turned back to face your guests, asking if anybody wanted a drink. They politely declined.  
“We’re just stopping by to pay you a quick visit, just to check up on you,” Francine said, sitting down at the table. You followed suit. You noticed your students looking around your place, some settling around the couch to talk.

You also noticed the mess.  
Ah shit.

Your house wasn’t dirty, per se, it was just… lived in. Still, you felt sheepish that your illusion of Functional Adult had to be torn down. Suddenly, you were very aware of the fact that you had just woken up. Your hair was a mess, clothes slightly rumpled. You prayed to god that there wasn’t drool on your face. You nodded vaguely to Francine, panicking when you realised you had no fucking clue what the hell she was talking about. You smiled warmly, continuing to nod.  
“...and so that’s why we decided that we absolutely had to come pay you a visit. Of course it was-oh, speak of the devil, Frisk.” 

They plopped themselves down on your other side, handing you your phone.  
**_BZZT_**  
Frisk: are you feeling better?  <3 <3 <3  
“Yes, I am. Thank you, Frisk.” You gave them a light hug, touched by their concern, “But, how did you know what happened?”  
**_BZZT_**  
Frisk: how do you think?  
They shot you a sly look and a pair of finger guns. You rolled your eyes, groaning dramatically, causing Frisk to giggle, their laughter clear and refreshing like the chiming of bells in fresh morning air. 

Francine was opening her mouth to say something when there was a flash of blue, and suddenly Sans was standing in the mouth of the hallway to the rooms, mouth agape. There was a moment were all chatter in the room ceased to be, most of the occupants astonished at the sight of the tiny skeleton. Frisk stood up shakily as though they were unsure if they were dreaming.

“Frisk…?” Sans said, jaw hanging agape.  
Then Frisk was running towards him, scooping the small monster into their arms with tearful joy. You thought you heard them whisper Sans’ name.

You were standing too, tugging lightly on Frisk’s grip.  
“Frisk, be careful! His leg is hurt.”  
They released their hug, eyes glassy, looking over the skeleton in earnest. Then they set Sans on their shoulder where he immediately grabbed onto Frisk’s hair for balance. Frisk signed something too rapidly, hands blurring one motion into the next.  
Sans turned to you, “could you give us a moment?”

You watched the pair, tearful and pressed against each other as though they might be torn apart at any moment.  
“Frisk, why don’t you bring Sans to my room first, kay? It’s the first door over here.” 

You returned to the living room, settling back into your seat beside Francine.  
“Do you know what all that was about?”  
Francine looked away, shrugging.  
“Hey, so can we discuss the fundraising events? Frisk actually came here with news.”  
“Oh?”  
“Yeah. After some scouting and spreading the news, we have more than enough students willing to help out for the events. When you’re ready, we can bring the project to the school board.”  
“Wait, that quickly?” You blinked, scratching your temple, “I mean, I know Frisk is an efficient kid and all. And they’re practically unstoppable when they have their mind set on something. But still, I’m impressed.”  
“Tell me about it. Frisk really has an admirable spirit.”

“Hey Teach! You mind if we pitch some ideas at you?” Brandon called from the couch. The group of students began migrating to your dining table at your nod.  
“So we’ve got the events laid out, but the most important part is gettin the people to come, yeah? So we were just talkin bout how to advertise the stuff, okay? And we thought, sure, flyers and stuff are handy an all but the paper costs cash and printing many copies ain’t good. Plus, people usually just throw flyers away, right? So we thought, how bout we hold a performance first, to get people aware of the predicament. Then we’ll bring up the cause, the events and the dates, no problem! And we can raise some money for performance event too, sound good?”

You and Francine exchanged a glance.  
Honestly, it wasn’t a _bad_ idea… Plus the kids did have a point. Who even spared flyers a second glance right? You only took the flyers because you always felt bad turning them down...  
“Well, what would you propose we perform?” Francine said before you could.

There was a chattering amongst the students and Brandon’s eyes gleamed when he turned to you.  
“Well, ya know you’ve been teachin us to make a statement and a stand, yeah? So we were thinkin…”

-

It was slightly past dinner when everyone left. You actually finished a productive session of brainstorming with your students before Frisk came out from your room. In fact, Francine had politely asked you to go fetch them so they could all start making their leave.

Frisk had left your house pink-eyed and sad, reluctant to leave Sans.  
“don’t worry, kiddo. i’ll see you soon, kay?”  
The both of them looked at you. You swallowed, uncomfortable at the sudden attention.  
“Uh, yeah sure. Come by anytime, okay?” You said, picking at your fingers.

Frisk nodded vigorously, hugging you firmly while carefully avoiding your injured side. They looked down at Sans, signing something with a pointed look. Sans nodded, looking away, hands shoved into its pants pockets. 

With a final wave to everyone, you shut the door. Well, it was too late to go run your errands now. At least you didn’t have to worry about dinner since Francine was kind enough to bring you some home cooked food. Plus, you were positively exhausted. Despite sleeping so much already, the social interaction combined with your physical state made you want to take another nap.

You scooped some of the food out into a bowl, you stuck it into the microwave. The savory aroma graced your senses, stomach rumbling as your heart soared. You felt so cared for, so grateful. You truly knew some really amazing people.

Sans was sitting on the tissue box when you put your food down, fiddling with the fragile paper. You doubled back into the kitchen, grabbing the ketchup bottle and a saucer. You poured a reasonable portion for Sans, setting the dish down before the skeleton then digging into your own meal. You watched Sans consider the dish intensely, before meeting your gaze with a soft, “thanks.”

After eating, you were full and contented, ready to curl up and sleep right there and then. Still, you forced yourself to wash the dirty dishes and clean the countertop. Functional Adult, you got this. Sans watched you as you worked, eyelights following your movements. It was more than slightly unnerving.

“Hey, so what did you and Frisk talk about?” You broke the silence. Sans blinked in surprise, probably pulled out from his thoughts.  
“nothin much. just did some catching up.”  
“Wait, how do you even know Frisk?”  
Sans shrugged, staring into the distance, “long story.” 

The monster left it at that, settling back into silence. It seemed to be distracted so you decided to leave it be.  
“Hey, bud. Can i use your com?” It said, just as you finished cleaning up.  
“Um, sure.” you replied, surprised it even knew how to use technology.

After giving Sans your password and logging in for him, you headed to bed, happy to burrow under your covers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well then that happened.  
> Kudos, comment, share?  
> Please give me The Validation™ my exams are giving me a shitty time :(  
> I strongly despise whoever set the Additional Mathematics Paper.
> 
> Also! Should I write a companion fic from Sans' POV if I finish this fic? There is a whole lot more to this story that is in hidden plot because Reader is a terribly unobservant person and Sans is a secretive little shit. Also, there's little trinkets, easter eggs and headcanons that have an underlying subplot. Do you guys want to figure them out or have me point them out one day?
> 
> Till next chapter,  
> Trin (i'm dying someone murder O-levels pls)


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heya! Name's Trinity. You can find me on...  
> tumblr: @infinitrinx  
> snapchat: @infintrinxx  
> insta: @infinitrinx  
> Drop by anytime!
> 
> Find my slave driver on...  
> tumblr: @taghashromer

Today was the day you were determined to run your errands.  
Come hell, come heaven, you were going to Adult today, goddammit. No matter how tired you were, you needed to get these things done. Which was why you chugged a cup of coffee before getting ready to go out for the day.

Your body was still aching, especially your ribs. You decided heading to the drugstore to pick up painkillers would be your first quest for today. Hand on the knob, you were about to leave when Sans looked up from your laptop, slightly disheveled.  
“ where ya goin? ”  
“I need to run some errands, pick up some stuff I lost with my bag. Then I’m gonna head over to the police station. I’ll be back in the evening, okay?” You replied, peeking past the door as you waited for his response.

Sans eyed you up and down, his stare hardening before a tired sigh escaped through his teeth. He stood from where he sat cross-legged in front of your laptop. Reaching up, he shut your laptop with a click, picking up his discarded jacket as he sauntered forwards.  
“i’m coming with.”

There was a flash and Sans appeared on your shoulder, stumbling slightly and nearly falling off before you caught him just in time. He curled a hand into your hair, steadying himself. This was strange. Sans had seemed to hate you, avoid you at all costs. What's gotten into the monster?  
  
When you were certain he was not going to fall off, you slipped out the door, closing it behind you.

-

The drive to the pharmacy was relatively quick, but Sans had managed to fall asleep all the same. The skeleton sat shotgun, skull lolled forward until its chin rested gently on its sternum. Deciding not to disturb him, you gently picked the sleeping skeleton up, slipping him into the hood of your jacket.

Sans slept through the entire pharmacy run, waking only as you pulled the car over at the curb, having just arrived at the locksmiths. You felt him stir, stretching slightly. There was a small scrambling of movement before you felt Sans drape his arms over your right shoulder, resting his head between them. The action was cute.  
“mornin.”

“Good morning, sleepyhead,” you smiled, craning your neck to look at him, “did you have a good nap?”  
Sans hummed absently, taking a look around.  
“what’re we doin now?”

You entered the cramped shop, stepping carefully. There was a strange sticky substance spilled on a patch of the tattered carpet floor. Still, this place had the best rates around. Everyone at some point in their life has bought something from a sketchy place to save money, right?  
“We’re gonna get a new set of house keys.”

In the corner of the shop was a pile of cardboard boxes, smelling slightly foul. One of the lights overhead flickered dimly, clinging onto the last vestiges of life. The wallpaper was warped and bubbled, probably from collected moisture inside the walls. Despite the less than pleasant atmosphere, the man behind the counter was nice enough. At one point, he stooped down to look at Sans who had taken official residence up in the hood of your sweater.  
“And who’s this lil fella, eh?”  
“This is Sans! Say hi, sweetheart.” You grinned, counting dollar bills out from your wallet. You heard no response from the skeleton and frowned slightly.

“How many sets do you need?” The man said when you paid. You contemplated before holding up two fingers. The man nodded. “I’ll drop by tomorrow to install your new lock. I’ll pass you your keys then. May I have your address?”

-

“you should go to a doctor or a healer or somethin.” Sans said when you tripped, again.  
You steadied yourself on a nearby lamppost, breathing slightly shallow from your aching ribs.

“I’m fine.” You shook your head, slowly putting pressure on your bad ankle again so you could walk. Honestly, you were lucky to get away as well as you did, your injuries weren’t as bad as they could be. Furthermore, you had already spent a lot this past week, you couldn’t dare to dip into your savings. You just had to suck it up a little.

“well we should at least head home already, you got most of your stuff done.” Sans teleported to the roof your car, waiting for you patiently.  
“I’m fine. It’s just one more stop to the police station then we can go back.” You said, wrenching the car door open. You practically collapsed into the seat, a wave of vertigo knocking you down. You closed your eyes against the pressure building behind your eyes.

“you’re in no condition to drive, bud.” You felt a rush of air and the thud of the car door swinging shut. “i mean, unless you wanna get us both killed.”  
You sighed, releasing a low whine. There was a click you recognised as the door locking.  
“take a nap, pal. i’ll wake you later.”

-

Turns out later meant when it was practically night.  
You were startled out of your sleep with what sounded like the pissed off hissing of several thousand wet cats. You didn’t even have the breath to yell, just jumping upright before flailing out of your seat. You somehow wedged yourself in the space in front of the seats.

Sans was laughing, chortling slightly.  
“oh my stars, you should have seen your face!” He exclaimed, somehow laughing even harder when you shot him your best death glare. The little shit was perched on the edge of your dashboard, legs dangling. He bent over himself, slapping a skeletal hand against his femur. The action made a small tak, tak, tak noise.

You picked yourself off the floor, thankful your ungraceful descent didn’t affect any of your injuries.  
“What the hell Sans!?” You said, turning off the still too loud radio which continued to wail static.

You looked outside at the setting sun, fumbling around for your phone.  
5:55pm

“Dude, why’d you wake me up so late?”  
“ hey now, don’t blame me, ” Sans said, having finally calmed down, “ you didn’t say what time to wake you up. ”  
You grumbled to yourself, not wanting to admit the little shit was technically right.

You started up the car, deciding to just head home. The station was probably closed by now anyways. Sans was still sitting on the dashboard, now facing the rapidly darkening streets. He seemed entranced by the sunset.  
“Pretty, huh?” You said, sparing the sky a glance before returning your focus to the road.  
“hm?” Sans hummed, leaning back on his arms, “yeah.”

You drove in comfortable silence for a while, just admiring the slanting golden light cast like rays of hope in the concrete jungle. Cars crowded the narrow street, sunlight glinting off hoods and bumpers.  
“ so, you teach Frisk? ” Sans asked, inclining his head slightly in your direction.  
“Yeah, have been for slightly more than a year.” You replied absently.  
“ they listenin in class? ”  
“One of my best students.” You looked at Sans curiously, “Why do you care about Frisk?”  
Sans shrugged, “ have you met the kid? how can you not care? ”  
“Well, can’t argue with that,” you smiled, “although, I still don’t understand how you know them.”

The skeleton made a vague hand gesture.  
“ not important… ‘sides- hey, wait. we just passed the police station. ”  
“That’s because they’re probably closed for the day since _someone_ -” you shot Sans a pointed glare, “didn’t wake me up on time.”

  
“welp, that’s not my fault, remember?”, he didn’t even have the decency to look sheepish, “ya can always go tomorrow anyway.”  
“I **know** … But I just wanted to get everything done today so I can focus on schoolwork ASAP.” You practically whined.

Sans sat up, twisting to look at you.  
“ woah, buddy wait. how many rest days are ya takin? ”  
“Just today. I can’t leave my students for too long. Plus I’ve got a bunch of projects to work on for the orphanage and not to mention-”  
“i dunno if ya noticed, but you’re not exactly doin too well, pal.” Sans cut you off.

You rolled your eyes.  
“It’s not like I’m gonna drop dead.”  
“ and it’s not like your students can’t survive without ya either. ”  
You cringed, forcing yourself away from that train of thought.  
“Which is why I want to see them as much as I can.”

There was a break in the conversation as you slowed down at a zebra crossing, gesturing for a mother and her child to walk across.  
"you really like teaching that much?"  
"Well..." You considered the question, tasting the words on the tip of your tongue, "it's less about me enjoying teaching and more about what I can offer the kids."

“i’m not talkin ya out of this, am i?” he sighed afterwhile.    
“Nope.”  
Sans shook his head, turning back face the road.  
“...even worse than Pap.” You heard him mutter under his breath.

  
When you went home that night, Sans immediately went back to your laptop and the small amount of bonding you thought you shared seemed very fragile all of a sudden.

-

On Saturday night you were busy coming up with lesson plans for 2 Hope when Sans buried his face in his palms with a sigh. Looking up from the lesson plan, you noted Sans was once again using your laptop to search Creature Caves’ archives of available monsters. You wondered who he was looking for.  
“You okay?”  
“yeah sure. don’t worry bout me.” Sans grinned, turning his attention back to the screen.

You worried about him.  
Something was obviously bothering him. He’d been distracted the whole day, lost in thought at every turn, even when you dropped by the police station earlier. It had glared aggressively at the locksmith when he dropped by. You remember apologising, flustered and confused by Sans’ unexpected aggression. Still, you were not going to push for information. Any interaction with the skeleton was still tense, you were constantly wary of pushing it’s buttons.  
So you sat in silence. You returned to your lesson plan while Sans fiddled around on your laptop a little longer. You were about done when it spoke up.

“y’know, we aren’t supposed to be this small.”  
“What do you mean?”  
“us monsters. before the barrier broke, back when we were all still trapped in the Underground, we were all bigger,” Sans paused, sizing you up with an analytical gaze, “think i was about your height. maybe a bit taller.”

It took you several moments to understand what Sans was saying. You thought of Sans, the small little skeleton you’ve come to adore, and imagined him larger. The mental image of a person sized Sans shook you in a way you could not identify.  
“Wait what?”

“you… you really don’t know, huh? you have no idea what you did to us… the Underground, the history of monsters, how we got to the surface?” Sans asked, scratching the back of his head. The faint sound of bone on bone filled the silence as you shook your head.  
“oh geez. okay. that actually explains a lot. uh, okay. i guess we’ll start from the beginning. get comfy, it’s a long story.”

“long ago, two races ruled over Earth: Humans and Monsters…”

And so there the two of you sat for the remainder of the night, between a finished lesson plan and a beaten laptop. Sans talked until the dark recesses of night lifted to a deep blue. He spoke of a terrible war, of the monster’s incarceration, of souls and magic and so much more than you could comprehend. He told you of Mount Ebott, of fallen humans, lost princes, of tragedy and hope. Hope which persevered with the determination of a single human child who broke the barrier and brought the monsters to the surface. Then, unexpected repercussions and a happy ending ripped right out from under their feet. Sans narrated the government seizing the monsters and the human child, taking them under custody to be held for observation. It was then that the monsters started shrinking. Day by day, their form grew almost imperceptibly smaller until everyone was no more than 20cm tall. Intrigued and relieved, the humans in charge of handling the monsters took advantage of the weakened race. Some they kept to study, others they let loose into the corporate world to be sold as pets. As predicted, monster pets became the latest trend despite being rather expensive to purchase. The novelty of having a miniature, sentient creature as a pet grew to the point where corporations like Creature Cove opened up to sell monsters and monster related items exclusively.

You listened patiently and carefully, sitting in silent horror at his tale. Guilt dragged it’s claws against the pit of your chest, weighing you down with a sickening nausea. Monsters have suffered so much at the hands of your race. It was like a genocide and slavery all in one, except painted over with facades of cheer and humanity’s gruesome sense of entitlement. How could you have been okay with all of this? How could their tragic history be forgotten, swept under the rug with demonic nonchalance?

Bile crept up the back of your throat.  
You thought of all your past interactions with Sans and his demeanor suddenly made a lot more sense; the way he recoiled from your overly doting attention, his aversion to your attempts to bond, oh my god you tried to put a damn leash on him.  How could you have been so fucking condescending?

Utterly disgusted by yourself, you clenched your jaw hard as wave after wave of regret crashed upon you. Honestly, what the fuck was wrong with you? How have you never considered monsters to be lesser than yourself? It was not like you were unaware of their intelligence. How had you just dismissed this blatant oppression?

A small bony hand tugged at your finger. You jolted out of your thoughts, sharply turning your attention to Sans.  
“hey bud, you alright? you kinda spaced out there.”

You allowed to yourself several moments to drink in the sight of Sans, seeing him through a new lens. He looked up at you, browbone drawn tight in concern. The small pinpricks of light in his sockets, gleaming with a haunted intelligence. The clothes you got him at Creature Cove were slightly too large, hanging off his frame in a manner that looked sloppy. And that collar, that dreaded collar around his neck. It was scratched and worn from Sans’ many futile attempts to remove it, yet still, it’s surface reflected the same numbers it did when you first found him.

ATK 1  DEF 1  HP 1/1  LV 1  EXP 34

You ran a thumb across it’s uneven surface, wishing with every atom in your body you knew how to take it off. Sans looked at you questioningly.

Your eyes were burning and the guilt clinging at your insides had long since crawled up to your throat to settle in an uncomfortable lump. You had clenched your jaw to the point where an ache began to develop at your temples. Who were you to cry? After all the suffering your race has contributed to, that you have contributed to, who were you to deserve to cry?

You swallowed, forcing words out of your mouth.  
“I’m… sorry,” you breathed, barely choking them past your lips.

Sans looked surprised, inhaling with a blink.Oh god what were you thinking?  
‘I’m sorry’? Yeah sure okay, I’m sorry my race imprisoned you for, like what, a hundred years? I’m sorry we massacred your friends? I’m sorry for holding you against your will and treating you like an animal? I’m sorry for taking you away from everyone you loved?  
Sorry doesn’t mean jack shit.

“I-” Sans began. You could practically hear his accusations, knowing it was coming, deserved even. Yet still you braced yourself against it, cutting him off with a pointless ramble.  
“I’m so s-sorry, Sans. I’m sorry for how I treated you, the things I did and said. I’m sorry I forced you to stay here, I’m sorry I hurt your leg, I’m sorry I disrespected you, I-I’m sorry f-for being a condescending **_asshole_ **! I know you hate me and that’s okay because I deserve it! I’m sorry… I’m.. so sorry…”

Whatever weak resolve you had within you snapped, tears flowing down your face as you sniffed through a stuffy nose, muttering an incoherent stream of apologies. Your salty tears carved a path down your cheeks, clinging onto the edge of your chin before falling into your lap with a gentle tap. You dug the heels of your palm into your eyes, desperately trying to stem your tears. Stars gathered like fireflies in the darkness behind your eyelids. Your body burned, ribs hot like fire as you breathed slow and deep. Sans tugged at your wrists. You relented, gearing up for what you knew was to come.

You stared at your hands rested in your lap, picking at the edge of a nail.  
“ hey. ”  
You tore your gaze upwards to at least look Sans in the eye. Surprisingly, he didn’t look upset. Actually, he downright casual as he rocked backwards on his heels, hands in his pockets, while he waited for you to calm down.  
“i don’t hate you, bud.”

  
It was your turn to be shocked, mouth opening to proclaim that _he should_ and _he had every right to_ . Sans cut you off with a wave of his hand.  
“ no, listen. you wanna make this right, yeah? ”  
You nodded.  
“kay, you can start with helping me find my bro.”  
"You have a brother?"  
"yeah. his name's Papyrus. you'd like him, he's pretty cool."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone!  
> My O-levels are kicking my ass. I'm so afraid I won't be able to get into the school of my choice ugh. Anyway, the next few chapters are all gonna be Sans-Reader bonding before I nuke everyone with Plot. So excuse the dialogue heavy paragraphs. I'm sorry.
> 
> Any and all constructive criticism is welcome!  
> Love ya,  
> Trin <3


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heya! Name's Trinity. You can find me on...  
> tumblr: @infinitrinx  
> snapchat: @infintrinxx  
> insta: @infinitrinx  
> Drop by anytime!
> 
> Find my slave driver on...  
> tumblr: @taghashromer

“What’s he like?”  
“hm? ”  
“Your brother, Papyrus,” You leaned over the printer, guiding the next piece of paper out with an impatient pull, “What’s he like?”

“he’s great. probably one of the best monsters you’ll ever meet.”  
“Yeah, you always say things like that, but, what’s he like?”

-

It was always cold in Snowdin, not that it mattered to Sans. The cold literally _went right through him_ . Either way, their house was always ambiently warm, kept clean and tidy by Papyrus who had his entire life together. He cooked food for Sans every day when he got back from work, cleaned up all of Sans’ messes and exercised daily to keep fit. He ate clean, slept early, and met each day with unbridled enthusiasm.  
Honestly, Sans probably wouldn’t survive if Pap wasn’t around to take care of him. His brother had enough control of his life for the both of them.

The skeleton was training to be a part of the royal guard. Every day, Papyrus would train to maintain his physical and magical abilities, sharpening his skills to utmost precision. Papyrus was one of the strongest monsters in the Underground, attacking with only ridiculously acute precision.  
If the royal guard had not disbanded, Sans had no doubt that his brother would be gladly accepted into their ranks.

In fact, Papyrus had his life so together that he often came to Sans’ rescue. It was always cold in Snowdin, and usually, it didn’t matter to Sans. Except, he was kind of stuck, foot pinned into a small puddle of water which had frozen over. Honestly, he didn’t mean to freeze himself into a _Sansicle._ He’d just settled down near a snowpoff to _chill_ , fallen asleep and woken up like this.

He really should be back at his station. He hoped Undyne wouldn’t be too upset. Oh well, not like his extended break was on purpose (this time). Sans did what any bum in his position would; he went back to sleep.

It wasn’t long before a worried Papyrus came searching for him. Sans was lucky to have someone like Pap to look out for him.  
“ _ice_ to see you, bro.”

Papyrus’ worry melted off him, but his grin pinched downwards.  
“SANS, YOU LAZYBONES! THIS IS A NEW LOW EVEN FOR YOU, SKIPPING YOUR DUTY, LEAVING YOUR POST UNATTENDED…”  
He shook his head, crossing his arms across his chest.  
“WHEN I AM IN THE ROYAL GUARD, I WON’T TOLERATE ANY NONSENSE LIKE THIS. LUCKILY, I AM NOT. HOWEVER, WE SHOULD HEAD HOME IMMEDIATELY!”

Papyrus strode homewards confidently, before doubling back.  
“SANS! GET UP!”

Sans shrugged, stuffing his hands into the pockets of his hoodie.  
“s orry bro, _snow_ way i’m getting up like this, ” Sans said, nodding towards the foot encased in the glassy pool of ice. Papyrus’ eyes bugged out of his sockets.  
“SANS? HOW DID YOU GET YOUR FOOT FROZEN?”  
“i’d tell you but it seems like i’ve got a case of cold feet.”

His brother groaned, burying his face into a gloved hand. Then he perked up, eyes gleaming with determination.  
“IT IS NO MATTER! FOR I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WILL SAVE YOU!”

Several puns and magical attacks later, Papyrus had successfully chipped away all of the ice keeping Sans’ foot captive. His magic was brutal but precise, never once coming close to hurting Sans. Not that Sans even worried about that, he knew Pap was more than capable.  
“ thanks bro, you really _hailed_ me out there. ”  
“YOU ARE LUCKY THAT I AM HERE TO SAVE YOU. DO NOT BE SO CARELESS WITH YOUR NAP LOCATIONS IN THE FUTURE. NOW, CAN WE GO HOME?”  
Sans grinned, leaning back against the snowpoff.  
“i dunno bro, i think i wanna,” he yawned dramatically, sinking further into the soft snow, “take another nap…”

Papyrus gave an indignant huff, grabbing Sans by the hood of his jacket and tugging him along like the sack of bones he was.

-

“I still can’t believe you froze your foot in a puddle.” You said, rolling balls of blue tack between your fingers before sticking them onto the back of the freshly printed fliers. Sans shrugged, flipping through the stack again.  
“believe it or not, it's up _toe_ you.”

You rolled your eyes despite the smile on your face. Papyrus did seem pretty great.  
“Do you think he’ll be okay with me?”  
“hm? waddaya mean?”  
“I… I’m not sure if he’ll like me…” You said, voice trailing off. You wouldn’t hold it against any monster who decided they hated you. Your species does kind of suck and you’re not exactly a pure cinnamon roll.

“Papyrus? don't worry bud, he’d love you.” Sans reassured easily, swiping a hand through the air as though dispelling the notion.  
“How do you know?”  
“it takes a lot for Pap to dislike someone.”

-

Mettaton was an obnoxious rectangle of narcissism and sin.  
He only ever cared for his own personal fame and glory, ~~using things like sex appeal to gain viewers~~. Sans never understood why Papyrus was so enamored by the robot. Still, whatever made Pap happy.

Honestly, Sans should have expected this. Papyrus was talented at almost everything he tried his hands at. With enthusiastic diligence and a penchant for nothing short of perfection, it wasn’t a surprise when his brother won the snowman building competition.

Mettaton hosted the event, metal draped in a faux fur coat and a silken scarf. Sans scoffed as he rolled past, smelling like he doused himself in several bottles of perfume.  
“Oh darling, I look simply divine in this. I think you’ve really captured the essence of my fabulousness with your art.” Mettaton draped himself against Papyrus, running a hand down the front of his brother’s sternum. Sans felt his jaw clench.

“I-UH,” Papyrus blushed, orange dusting his cheekbones before he cleared his throat, striking a pose, “BUT OF COURSE! I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WILL PRODUCE NOTHING BUT THE FINEST ART FOR METTATON!”

The robot gasped, lifting a hand to the top of his screen and collapsing backward as though he were fainting. Papyrus immediately thrust his arms out, catching the arrogant box in a graceful dip.  
“ **Oh** , oh my stars. You’re Papyrus, yes darling?” Mettaton’s screen lit up to form a heart shape, “I declare you the winner of today’s Build A Snow Mettaton Contest!”

Mettaton looped his arms around Papyrus at the explanation, causing the latter’s blush to glow a deeper shade. Sans intervened with a good-natured slap on his brother’s back, dislodging the wanton piece of machinery.  
“hey bro, good job.”

And a good job it was. Papyrus had built a life-sized snow sculpture of Mettaton and himself, the details of their bodies captured with skillful hands. His brother had somehow sculpted the snow to emulate the rumpled texture of his scarf and the smooth dials on the robot. Papyrus was amazing. Snow-Pap held Snow-Mettaton in his arms, bridal style, his snow-scarf _frozen_ in the midst of a heroic billow.  
Sans had no doubt Mettaton would have tried to recreate the scene captured if Sans hadn’t stopped him.

“So, darling,” Mettaton butt himself between the brothers, “For your prize, how’d you like to spend a day out with, the one, the only, Mettaton?”  
Papyrus stood ramrod straight, clasping his hands before him.  
“WOWIE! THAT WOULD BE AMAZING, METTATON!”  
“Well then, we’ll be off. Is my place okay? What am I talking about, of course it's okay.” Mettaton said, looping his arm through Pap’s. “Toodles, Sans!”

Mettaton sped off, Papyrus in tow, before Sans could utter a word of protest.

-

“Yikes. This Mettaton guy sounds like a real piece of work.” You cringed, pasting up the fliers detailing your search for Papyrus and your contact details.

 **LOST!**  
**Skeleton monster, goes by the name of Papyrus. About 13cm tall. Loud, enthusiastic, enjoys spaghetti.**  
**Contact 92347928 or[thevoidscreamsback@coldmail.com  
](mailto:thevoidscreamsback@coldmail.com)Reward of $50**

“heh. you’ve got no idea, pal." Sans said, hand holding fast to the chain around your neck.  
"That's the last of the fliers. If anyone gives me a call, I'll let you know ASAP." You dusted your hands off, satisfied with your work. You managed to cover a good area today, pasting your fliers on lampposts all around your neighbourhood, spanning several streets. You were exhausted from the work, a light sheen of sweat clinging to your skin. Your injuries throbbed vaguely, forcing you to take a break on a nearby park bench. You'd walked the whole way.

Sans slid down from your shoulder to hop lightly onto your lap.  
"thanks, buddy. i really appreciate it."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi people!  
> HOLY SHIT we're almost at 1K hits?????????? What is this??????????  
> Anyway, I'm super busy this Hell Week of Exams. But my O-levels are almost over!! YAY!  
> This short interlude of fluff should last one or two more chapters before shit goes down. Next chapter is all about Sans, Reader, Frisk and the rest of the kids. 
> 
> Thank you so much for reading like what the frick I want to combust from the amount of attention this fic is getting? Give me kudos and I swear I will cry like holy shit thanks.  
> Any and all criticism is welcome.
> 
> Till next chapter!  
> Trin <3


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heya! Name's Trinity. You can find me on...  
> tumblr: @infinitrinx  
> snapchat: @infintrinxx  
> insta: @infinitrinx  
> Drop by anytime!
> 
> Find my slave driver on...  
> tumblr: @taghashromer

_**BZZT**_  
Frisk: hi!! i know it’s kinda late sorry.   
Frisk: just wanted to ask, when can i see sans again?

You rolled over in bed, the screen of your phone blazing on your retinas in the darkness of your room. It was late, almost 1am. What was Frisk doing awake? Were they alright? You tapped your thumb indecisively against the empty text box. You still wondered at Frisk and Sans’ relationship. Perhaps you could ask Frisk about it some day...

Still, the two seemed really close, friends torn apart by circumstance. You remembered the look of absolute dumbfounded joy that gripped Sans when he saw Frisk, the tentative hope that had blossomed. You wondered how long it has been since Sans felt anything like that. All the horrors he’s endured and still, the monster sat outside, probably half asleep in the living room, scouring every inch of the internet for his brother.

You flopped onto your side, shuffling into the mattress in an attempt to get comfy. Your sheets were warm, probably due for a washing soon. You really fucked up. Your species was really fucked up. This entire situation was really fucked up. For all sentimental talk of humanity, humans had a distinct lack of said quality. At least, most humans. Does anyone else know the true plight of monsterkind? Does anyone else care…?

No. Of course people will care. If only people really understood, really _knew_. You had been ignorant, stupid and uneducated and that was why you happily went on your life amidst the suffering. Knowledge is the greatest tool, the most potent weapon. Ignorance and misinformation breeds lack of understanding and confusion. And most people feared things they didn’t understand. Fear cultivates itself in many ways, usually, hate. Knowledge is liberation. Why else did dictators ensure their oppressed subjects remain uneducated?

You turned back onto your back again, pressing the home button of your phone. It lit up once more, the blue text cursor blinking at you mockingly against the sadly empty text box. You sighed, tapping the top of your phone to the curve of your upper lips. The screen was slightly warm against your skin, the dull hum of electricity coursing through the glass surface.

This was one of the reasons you wanted to be a teacher. The fate of the world is literally shaped by the hands of the next generation. It would benefit no one to let prissy teachers like your old math teacher raise the youth of the generation. You remember the indignant fire you had swallowed back down whenever you had to attend his classes. He always favoured the richer students, always turned his nose down on your best friend, telling her, “Sciences and maths are bound to be harder with all those hormones of yours,” just because she had dyslexia and didn’t score well most of the time. Other girls in the class weren’t as affected, but Mr Dickbag gave all the girls the same treatment. Eventually, his criticism got too much and you watched her drop not only advanced mathematics but also chemistry. That was the day you swore you were going to be a teacher, just so you could kick undeserving educators like Mr Misogyny out of the system and prevent children from ever having to experience a learning experience like you had. A small personal revolution.

People should always have a right to know. You were a teacher, it was basically your job to make sure people knew. But, you couldn't outright shove the truth in your kids' faces. That wouldn't work. There were too many potential risks, you could get fired for one. Plus enforcing your personal political views onto impressionable youths was not the right way to go. No, you'd have to provide them knowledge, then let them do what they want with it. But how? Subtlety is key. You'd start with assigning books on the Holocaust and other oppressive historical events on them. It might be depressing to read about, but they had a right to know, to understand. You kicked the blanket with your legs, tucking the soft material under your calves. Shooting a quick text to Frisk, your eyes found the will to drift shut now that your brain had stopped whirring.

You: :p

-

Sans was still sleeping when you parked your car in the school parking lot. As usual, you found the skeleton slumped over your laptop, snoring lightly while screensaver flower petals danced across the darkened screen. Light blue drool pooled itself near your keyboard and you wrinkled your nose, wiping the wetness away with a tissue.

Sans slept all the way through your first two periods, curled up in your mostly emptied bag. You carried your valuables in various pockets on your person, the rest stuffed in your bag under Sans’ small blanket on which he slept. He hadn't moved since you last checked on him, curled up on his side, hand gripping the fabric of the blanket in a loose fist. You let him be. 

It wasn’t hard to tell when he had woken up because your students had suddenly decided the whiteboard was far less interesting than your bag.  
“Oh my god! Look at that!”  
“Is that a skeleton?”  
“It’s so cute!”  
“Teacher, is he yours?”

At some point, someone had stood up to take a closer look. Of course, that prompted the rest of the curious students to rush forward in a surge of excited chatter. They crowded round the teacher’s table, gushing over the very groggy skeleton. Sans sat there, still hazy from sleep and very, very confused. His eyelights darted around his surroundings, sweat beginning to form on his brow. You almost laughed at his discomfort before deciding to step in and save him from further torment.

“Everyone, get back to your seats, **now.** ” You clapped your hands, looking down at your students sternly. The scraping of chairs and hum of conversation filled the room before everyone settled down. You leaned against the white board, waiting patiently for quiet. Sans was staring at you from where he had climbed out onto the table. Jerking your head in a come here motion, Sans appeared on your shoulder in a flash of blue, drawing gasps of awe from your students.

“hey buddy. don’t mean to be rude but, uh, the hell's going on here?” Sans murmured into your ear, phalanges curling anxiously at your shirt's hem. You turned your attention to your class, grinning widely.  
“Class, I’d like you to meet my friend, Sans.”

There was an enthusiastic chorus of “Hi Sans!” as your students leaned at the edge of their seats. The monster in question raised a hand, waving vaguely.  
“um, hey kiddos.”  
A girl squealed and Sans laughed awkwardly.

-

It occurred to you during a break, when you had two hours of free time and the comfort of your office. Sans was chilling on a stack of marked papers, casually flipping through a physics textbook he had stolen from your colleague's desk.

Your tea sat cooling near your computer, steam rolling off it’s surface in gentle billows of comfort. You were taking a break from lining up the syllabus, letting your mind wander through the winding rivers of thought. As it often had, your thoughts strayed to Sans and all the other monsters. Once again, you shifted uncomfortably at the injustice of the situation. You thought of the fascinating hidden history of monsters, spanning from the war to the Underground to the breaking of the barrier. Whoever had broken the barrier would have had to be a strong, kind and determined soul…

Your phone buzzed.  
Frisk: meet u later to review performance script?  
You: okie. canteen, same place. i’ll drive u back.

You smiled to yourself, nursing your tea. Your projects were going along swimmingly, the principal having accepted the student initiatived project without hesitation. The orphanage was lucky to have Frisk. With all your combined efforts and Frisk leading the student body, you were almost certain you could give Francine the money she needed. Frisk was amazing, a born leader with charismatic independance. They truly were a strong, kind and determined.... Wait…. **_Wait!_ **

You sat up, nearly spilling tea all over yourself. Setting your cup down slightly harder than necessary, you turned to Sans, struggling to swallow your too large gulp of liquid. He looked at you, mildly alarmed as you slapped your palm against the surface of your desk repeatedly in repressed excitement. You finally managed to force down the tea, your throat aching slightly from the amount of liquid you choked on.  
“Frisk!” You managed before covering your mouth with both your hands, realising you said that louder than intended. Thankfully, no one was in the direct vicinity of your cubbyhole. The staff room was mostly empty.

“Frisk is that kid!” You tried again, hissing out the exclamation in a whisper. Vaguely, you noted your hands were flailing slightly. You clasped them together, pressing your knuckles to your lips.

“sorry pal, i don’t get whatcha me-”  
“Frisk!” you gasped, leaning down to Sans, “They’re the one who… The barrier! Oh, OH that’s how you and Fris-”  
Sans cut off your words with a hand shoved against your lips. His grin was uneasy, eyelights darting around the room.  
“ s’not safe to talk about this out here. keep this between us, kay?” he murmured, releasing you only when you nodded.  
“But, why? What’s wrong?” You asked. Not safe? What does that mean?  
“nothin. how bout we talk later? trust me on this, buddy.”

You nodded, worry gathering like an oncoming storm.

-

“oof! hey, kiddo.” Sans chuckled petting Frisk on the back as they held him close and spun the skeleton around. Frisk was laughing, their eyes shining with joy. The trinkets on their backpack clinked and rattled noisily.

Frisk signed something to Sans before turning to you, slinging their backpack off their shoulder.  
“kid says thanks for bringing me over today.” Sans translated, climbing onto their head. Frisk sat down, sitting as still as possible while giggling. Their joy was infectious and you found yourself almost bursting with happiness at the scene.  
“It’s no problem at all, Frisk.”

Something on Frisk’s backpack caught Sans’ eye, staring at it with intense concentration.  
“kid… is that one of Pap’s…?”  
Frisk turned, snatching the wishbone keychain up in their hands. They nodded their head, grinning vigorously. Wait… Pap? Papyrus?

For the second time, you were reminded that Frisk, your diligent, obedient, role model student, was the legend which had freed an entire race of creatures. Despite the mid-life crisis which hit you hard, you couldn’t help but feel in awe of the teen before you. Frisk has done amazing things, played messiah and gone through so much. The legend now sat before you, snorting slightly at one of Sans’s terrible puns. You couldn’t help but feel slightly overwhelmed.

“Hey, Frisk. Um,” You began, unsure how to voice your newfound admiration, “I’d like to say that…” Sans met your eyes, shaking his head slowly. Your heart stuttered. You couldn’t even talk about it with Frisk?  
“That… um. I know you and Sans have a lot of catching up to do, but we still have to finalise the script.” Ah shit, that sounded really insensitive.

Thankfully, you didn’t hurt Frisk’s feelings. A blush bloomed on their cheeks before they nodded, reaching into their school bag for a stack of papers.

-

“But Sans, I don’t understand why…”  
“you don’t have to understand. just know that if you talk about it too much, the kid might get in some serious trouble.”  
“But-”  
“pal, do you want to put Frisk in trouble?”  
“...No.”  
“then don’t bring it up. especially not ‘round em.”

-

Some days, Sans hung out with Frisk until the end of their school day. Others, Sans would accompany you to your lessons, always being a welcome addition to the class. The first full rehearsal for the performance was coming up at the end of this week. With Frisk in charge of the project, the students had practically bulldozered their way through the preparation.

Brandon was a great scriptwriter, grabbing your idea of using discrimination as a plotline and weaving a bittersweet play addressing the modern issues of passive segregation. He wrote in a slightly abstract style, featuring a village of marionettes and the main character being a doll. It was quite fascinating really, the marionettes puppeteered by identical strings representing societal expectations. The plot followed the doll and his relationship with his mother.

You couldn’t wait to see a full run through of the production. Today, the students were gathered in the empty hall, the eye-watering smell of paint assaulting your noses. Several pieces of half done props sprawled across the stage. Two fully painted pieces lay under the winds of several fans. All the windows were open, all the fans circulating. Despite that, the smell of paint made you feel light headed. Your chest felt tight, as though there wasn’t enough air in the atmosphere.

You sat down before the room could start spinning again. Not again. You were getting better…  
There was a tap at your wrist and you looked down to see Sans holding a pair of painkillers, the pills wedged under one arm and pinned against his side.  
“special delivery?” he grinned, letting you take the medicine from him. “take a break, bud. i know this can be a _pain_ t.”

You knocked back the pills dry, cringing hard.  
“don’t worry, i’ll watch the kids. ‘sides, what’s the worse that could happen?”

When you returned from your fresh air break, Sans was slathered in bright red from head to toe. Several other students had paint smeared across their faces, some with suspiciously small handprints. You crossed your arms, raising your brows at them.  
“What happened here?” You made sure to sound slightly angry. The students had the decency to look sheepish. Sans on the other hand…  
“heh. sorry pal. although, there's really no need to see _red_ here.”

-

Sans was definitely rubbing off on your students. Even Richard had begun throwing around puns like nobody’s business. You really should have seen this coming.

You were just walking through the hallway, on the way to your next class. You passed Pei Xuan at one point, tossing her a smile as you went past. Then suddenly, you spotted Frisk running at you head on, rapidly signing something as they ran before throwing themselves at you. You dropped your bag just in time to catch them before they plummetted straight to the ground. Frisk wrapped their arms around the back of your neck, laughing wildly as they did so. They hopped off, picked up your bag, handed it to you then took off down the hallway once more. You stared at them, bewildered as they signed again before throwing themselves into Elise’s arms. The startled little girl yelped, catching Frisk slightly too late and tumbling to the ground with them.

It happened again after recess. You stepped into class, hearing the scraping of chairs as your students stood to greet you. Except, Jacob didn’t stand to greet you. He leapt out of his seat, took a running start towards you then flung his body into your arms, proclaiming, “ **Hold me senpai sama desu!** ”

It was a lucky thing you had already put down the stack of worksheets in your arms, for Jacob was not as light as Frisk and his extra weight combined with the momentum from his literal jump nearly swept you off your feet. You grabbed him tighter, afraid to let him fall.

The class erupted into guffaws when you realised you’ve practically french dipped your student. Jacob straightened himself, pumping the air with his fist.  
“18!” He yelled to the class.  
“Yeah? Well I heard Frisk got up to 31 already.” Kira stuck her tongue out at Jacob as he settled back into his seat.

“ **What** is going **_on_ ** ?” you demanded, utterly done with today’s shenanigans.  
“The Senpai-Desu Challenge!” someone from the back answered, causing another round of giggles to erupt. You blinked several times, eyeing your laughing students.  
“The what.”

“It’s a monster meme!”  
“Like the cinnamon challenge.”  
“You see how many people you can get to catch you in a row!”

A monster meme? Godfuckingdammit Sans. You sighed dramatically, pinching the bridge of your nose.  
“Sans taught you this didn’t he.”  
The round of giggles was more than enough confirmation.

You folded your arms crossly, widening your eyes threateningly.  
“Jacob. Can I see you for a moment?”  
The students “ooooh”ed loudly, Jacob shuffling out of his seat anxiously. He walked slowly to the front, paling slightly in fear.  
“I-I’m sorry, teach. I went too far, didn’t I? I uh-”

You flung yourself at your student, careful not to use your full weight.  
“HOLD ME SENPAI SAMA DESU!” You gasped, hand resting on your forehead delicately. Jacob stumbled when he caught you, face red with slight strain. Your students’ laughter rang out through the classroom, echoing down the hallway.

You were pretty sure someone took a picture.  
Well, damn.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HOLY CACTUS IN A TUTU WE'VE REACHED OVER 1K HITS???????? AND OVER 100 KUDOS???!!?!?!???!?!??! WHAT IN THE WAKING WORLD I AM SCREMING????  
> Thank you so much everybody! You may not know this but I am not exaggerating when I say I almost cried when I saw like holy shit.
> 
> So uh, the Hold Me Senpai Desu Challenge...  
> Hash and I were talking about how the Underground must have had their own version of memes. And how Sans is a walking shitpost generator. We've come up with a bunch of stuff we call UnderMeme that you'll be seeing more of in this fic. I'm so sorry.  
> Undermemes include:  
> 1) "put some ketchup on it" as a solution for everything, kinda like "have you tried turning it on and off again"  
> eg: "dude what should I do? I'm gonna fail the test." "put some ketchup on it."  
> "i think my computer's spoilt" "put some ketchup on it."
> 
> 2) "in the sock drawer" meaning it's all gone to hell/i gave up on it  
> eg: "Zoe, where's your homework?" "in the sock drawer."  
> if in the context of messaging, the undermeme can be used like this: "so, what're you gonna do with your life now that you've graduated?" "messy_overflowing_sock_drawer_png."
> 
> 3) "taking off the armour" is the equivalent of "be careful who you call ugly in middle school"
> 
> 4) "transcending time and space" means to lie on the floor and waste your life away/ do nothing  
> eg: "so class, what did you do over the long holiday?" "i transcended time and space."
> 
> there's a lot more UnderMeme to groan forward to. So, HAVE FUN WITH THAT HAHHAHAH  
> Till next chapter,  
> Trin <3


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warnings for panic attacks, self-harm and blood.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heya! Name's Trinity. You can find me on...  
> tumblr: @infinitrinx  
> snapchat: @infintrinxx  
> insta: @infinitrinx  
> Drop by anytime!
> 
> Find my slave driver on...  
> tumblr: @taghashromer

After several days of having the students stay back, Francine had been kind enough to schedule a second bus for the students who were returning to the orphanage late. In other words, you no longer had to drop Frisk or any other kids off late at night. The bus was coming around 6:45pm and since everyone had finished up earlier, you were all loitering in the bus bay, grinning in the midst of gossip.  
“Wait, I thought you and Steph were a thing?” You scratched your head, raising your brows at the reddening Kira.  
“W-what? No, I mean… Uh…”  
A chorus of ‘oooooooh’s broke out amongst the kids. Even Sans threw her a wink.

“Oh! Oh! Teach, omg, did you know you’re famous?” Li Hui squealed, deciding to save her friend from her misery, whipping out her phone. She held the device up to you. Her phone was opened to Temblr, under the tag “#senpai desu”. You took the phone from her hands, more than slightly apprehensive, scrolling through post after post of you french dipping Jason and Jason struggling to keep you up. A lot of them were in meme format, “when senpai holds you just right” being the main caption although there were variations in the meme. There was one with the two photos superimposed over one another, the background badly photoshopped to a shimmering pink with cherry blossom petals gently falling in the gif.

Your students were laughing and you realised you were holding the phone an inch from your face in your fascination. You probably had a ridiculous expression too, because they laughed even harder when you looked up. Numbly, you placed the phone back into Li Hui’s hand.  
“I don’t know how to feel about this…”  
Your gaggle of kids erupted into laughter again. Sans sat on Marina’s head, looking more than slightly smug. If you weren’t in the presence of your kids, you would have flipped him off.

A honk startled everyone, Tong En letting out a shriek that made you jump harder than the noise. Sans himself nearly fell off his perch, grabbing a handful of Marina’s curling hair in his fists before he slid off onto her shoulder. The driver, Vihaan if you remembered correctly, waved at you from the driver’s window.

Collecting Sans from Marina, you ushered your students towards the waiting vehicle, shooting playful quips with your hurried goodbyes. Frisk hugged you before they left, slipping something into your hands. They bounded away, snickering to themselves before hopping into the bus.

You looked down at the bottle in your hands, cool and smooth in the weight of your palm. It was a bottle of ketchup. You glared at the tail end of the bus, banking out of the school.

“ooh, ketchup. gimmie.”

-

You absolutely refused to let Sans come with you to school. At least, not until he cleaned up. You woke up that morning to find Frisk’s gift empty and ketchup spilt over various surfaces in the kitchen. Sans was snoring away in a pot which had been filled to the brim with ketchup, arms draped over the rim as though he were in a hot tub.

Nope.

“Sans!” You shook the pot where it rested on the counter, the viscous ketchup jiggling slightly from the movement, “What the fuck, dude?”  
Normally, this was the part of the day where you put Sans in your bag, careful not to jostle his sleep, to bring him to school. No way in hell that was happening today.

“mmh…” Sans stretched, smearing red across the white of his cheekbone when he rubbed his face, “mornin.”  
“Sans!” You half yelled, mindful that it was still early in the morning.  
“yeah?” He said, scratching casually at his neck under the monster collar, as though waking up in a pot of condiment was completely normal.  
“I hate you.”  
“ok.”

You blanched, guilt suddenly gnawing at you.  
“Ok fine, I don’t hate you.”  
“ok.”  
Now he was just being irritating.  
“Clean this up.”  
“...”  
“ok.”  
“SANS!”

That day, school was strangely boring without Sans.

-

Frisk was knocking frantically on the staffroom door, peering at you through the glass. You put down your red pen, pushing away from the desk and stretching. Your back gave a few satisfying pops. You stuck your tongue out at Sans who was cringing at the noise.

 **_BZZT_ **  
Frisk: i found pap

Your heart skipped a beat, hope swelling in your chest and stealing your breath away. Wide eyes met Frisk’s, who nodded vigorously. Without thinking, you grabbed Sans off the desk slightly too rough (“woah, slow down pal!”), and yanked open the door.

“what’s up, kiddo?” Sans asked, wriggling slightly in your hand. You loosened your grip.  
“They found Papyrus.” You found yourself saying. There was a beat of something fragile in the air when Sans inhaled sharply, stilling his movements. Frisk grabbed your hand and pulled you to one of the tables where another girl was sitting. Elise, you thought. You taught her once before as a substitute teacher. She was a year younger than Frisk.

“Y-you’re Sans, right?” Elise said, her voice quiet like freshly laundered cotton. You set said skeleton down on the plastic table, taking a seat beside Frisk and opposite Elise.  
“you have Papyrus?” Sans’ voice cracked slightly and he cleared his throat. His hands were shoved into the pockets of his favourite grey pullover.

Elise nodded shyly, the movement unsure and excited all at once.  
“how is he?” Sans started, then his eye flashed blue, “are you treatin him alright? cos if you ain’t-” You nudged Sans with the back of your hand. He relaxed slightly, throwing a look back at you.

Elise shrunk back slightly, worrying her bottom lip between her teeth.  
“He… He’s fine… I think? I don’t know, he seems happy.” she blushed, grinning slightly, “He’s always happy.”

Sans sighed, unsaid tension draining out of him.  
“D-do… Do you wanna talk to him? He’s told me a lot about you.” Elise blushed at the end of the sentence, taking out her phone to fiddle with. Sans walked forward casually, keeping his hands planted firmly in the pockets. You noted he was shaking ever so slightly.

Elise tapped the call button against her contact, ‘Home’, then put the call on speaker. The phone rang, long and rich like a leopard’s purr. The plastic chair felt sticky.  
“Good morning, Miss Cipher. Is everything alright?” A man answered the call, sounding exceptionally professional. Oh right, Elise was the daughter of a politician, you wouldn’t be surprised if her family had butlers and other servers.  
“Yes Adam, thank you. Can you put Papyrus on the phone, please?”  
“Of course. Give me a moment.”

Classical music began playing when the call was put on hold. Frisk was pressed against your side, leaning towards the phone on the table. Sans had kneeled down at some point, hands spread against the glass screen on either side of the home button. Everyone seemed to be holding their breath.  
The sonnet cut off abruptly.

“HUMAN! ARE YOU ALRIGHT? WHY ARE YOU CALLING ME IN THE MIDDLE OF THE SCHOOL DAY? OH NO, DID YOU GET INTO TROUBLE OF THE UNFUN VARIETY? DO NOT FEAR, FOR I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS-”  
“knock knock” Sans said. His fists were clenched tightly, shoulders set taut. You ran a finger soothingly down his back, fabric getting caught slightly on the ridges of his spine. The other end of the line went dead silent before the voice yelled out again. Sans’ brother was loud.  
“SANS? IS THAT YOU? SANS WHAT ARE YOU DOING WITH MY HUMAN? WAIT WHY IS FRISK THERE? THIS IS ALL VERY BEFUDDLING!”  
“you’re supposed to say ‘who’s there’.” Sans was almost laughing now, sitting back on his haunches. He held himself up with a hand on your wrist.

“I AM NOT PLAYING A PART IN YOUR PUNS!”  
“awh, come on bro. surely you missed them.”  
“YES AND I HATE IT. FINE. I WILL INDULGE YOU BUT ONLY THIS ONE TIME ALONE AS A SINGULAR EXCEPTION.”

Elise giggled at Papyrus’ exasperation, clearly amused by the brothers’ interaction. She seemed to have taken good care of Sans’ brother. You were relieved.  
“WHO’S THERE?”  
“sans.”  
“SANS WHO?”  
“well you’ve been sans me for awhile now.”

Frisk and Elise laughed freely at the joke while you stared at the skeleton, bewildered. You’d really expected something more sentimental. You had been wondering at this moment for many nights, imagining the reunion as tearful and joyous, full of hugs and promises. Then again, this was Sans. So honestly, what were you expecting? Certainly not this.  
“SAAAAAANS!”

“Papy, can you ask Adam to prepare your stuff? I’ll bring you to school tomorrow to see your brother… if you want.” Elise smiled softly, twisting the fabric of her shirt.  
“YES, I SUPPOSE SANS IS MISSING MY PRESENCE. I DO NOT WANT HIM TO BE- WAIT, WHO IS THE LARGE HUMAN?”

You shifted uncomfortably as everyone’s attention was suddenly directed at you. You were about to introduce yourself when Sans beat you to it.  
“a friend.”  
Something fluttered in your heart, light as a cloud. You suddenly felt relief, a worry buried at the back of your subconscious stamped down at his words. Sans really forgave you. He really didn’t hate you, honestly wasn’t resentful. You were a friend, his friend.

“THAT IS FANTASTIC! ANY FRIEND OF MY BROTHER’S IS A FRIEND OF MINE. HELLO LARGE HUMAN, I’M SURE IT IS A GREAT HONOUR TO BE FRIENDS WITH THE GREAT-”  
“Papyrus!” Adam’s voice sounded faint. Poor guy, he kept getting cut off today. “Your spaghetti is burning!”  
“OH NO! GOODBYE SANS AND HUMANS! I MUST SAVE MY HUMAN’S LUNCH.”

The line went dead, leaving nothing but a dial tone in its wake. Elise reclaimed her phone, ending the call before stuffing the phone in her pocket.  
“You’re bringing paps tomorrow?” Sans hopped up onto your wrist, sitting on it like a bench.  
“Yeah, I thought… that you’d uh, you’d like to see him as soon as possible.” Elise smiled, looking to Frisk for support.  
“thanks kiddo, i’d like that.”

There was a flash and Sans was in front of Elise, hands in his pockets, kicking at invisible dust on the ground. She flinched back in surprise.  
“hey, uh, Elise yeah?” Sans stopped fidgeting, suddenly looking very serious, “thanks for takin care of him.”

A pretty blush spread across her creamy cheeks, creeping all the way to her ears.  
“Uh-um. Haha, t-thank you? But actually… Papyrus is the one… He’s really… I didn’t do anything really… Papy makes me spaghetti every day?”  
“heh, yeah he does that.” Sans smiled at the flustered teen, rocking back on his heels, “but really, thanks.”

Brandon came bounding down the hallway, footsteps loud and heavy.  
“Frisk, Teach! You’re late for class!” He panted, waving to Elise. You glanced at a nearby wall clock, noting that yes, indeed you were late. You sprang out of your seat, running to the staffroom to get your teaching materials.

-

The non-performing children were gathered in a circle on the floor, huddled on the empty space in front of the stage. Despite Bernice being on stage and currently doing a soundcheck, your attention kept getting drawn to the happy group chatting amongst themselves.

Laughter bubbled up from them occasionally, resonating in the empty hall. You gazed at them contentedly, the edges of your mouth creeping upwards without your notice. Sans was in the centre of the ring of children, talking in his casual yet captivating way. Suddenly everyone gave a groan and you knew he had just thrown out a particularly bad pun. You can’t believe you’d found Papyrus. Finally, something in this whole fucked up situation was going right. And tomorrow, just one sleep away, the brothers get to see each other again. You can’t imagine how hard it must have been to be separated for years, unknowing if the other was alright.

Frisk signed something to Sans. He shook his head sheepishly. Frisk signed again and they repeated their back and forth before the skeleton gave in with a huff.  
Sans scooted closer to Frisk, closing his eyes.  
When his eyes opened again, his left socket was alight with the brilliant cyan blue of his magic. The glow cast soft shadows on the teens’ faces as they watched with fascination and awe. Then the blue glow began to solidify around Frisk’s form, illuminating their outline like a neon silhouette. The students around Frisk gasped and shrank away from them. But they merely smirked, remaining completely still and unbothered from their cross-legged position.  
Sans raised an arm slowly, beads of sweat beginning to form on his skull. The glow around Frisk burned slightly brighter before they began to lift into the air, levitating several feet above the ground before being put gently back down.

The group of students sat in stunned silence before bursting into applause, leaning down to Sans’ level, they all spoke at once in a cacophony of questions and exclamations.  
“That was so cool!”  
“Oh my god, how did you do that?”  
“Dude that was awesome, let me try!”

Sans just shrugged, stuffing his hands into the pockets of his grey hoodie. Frisk signed something to Sans and he turned, catching your eye. The skeleton gave you a wink before turning back to the children. You realised your mouth was slightly agape.  
What _was_ that?

-

The rest of the rehearsal session went by without the occurrence of any other noteworthy events. Sans continued to act casual and lazy, as though he had not just _levitated a person several feet into the air with_ **_McFreaking magic._ **

You dismissed the students around 6:30pm. Most of them filtered out accordingly while the kids under the orphanage’s care hung around, waiting for the bus to arrive at 6:45pm. You walked around the stage, flipping switches and checking systems to ensure everything was properly shut off before you left. Sans called your name, bringing your attention to the front seats of the hall where the children were packing up. Frisk waved a goodbye before rushing out the open doors. Sans blinked out of existence to reappear, perched on your shoulder.

The last of the students strolled out the doors in a chorus of goodbyes, leaving you and Sans alone in the spacious hall to finish up. You trotted quickly up the stairs to the AV room, turning off the sound system and anything else you might have missed while humming a tune under your breath. Sans gripped your necklace with one hand to steady himself, his phalanges cool against the skin of your neck.

“So, what was up with your fancy, glowy magic earlier?” You asked, packing up the last of your things before heading out.  
“h m? it was nothin… ” Sans said, fiddling with your hair.  
“Nothing?” You gasped, mildly incredulous. You turned the key, locking the hall doors. “Sans, you fucking _levitated_ Frisk!”  
“yeah, so?”

You stopped in your tracks, plucking Sans off your shoulder to hold him in front of your face, shaking him slightly for dramatic effect.  
“You _levitated_ a **_person._** ”  
Sans clutched at your hands, smile seeming to get wider.  
“hey, now buddy. no need to rattle my bones.”

You groaned, slipping the skeleton into the front pocket of your coat.  
“ sides, i’m not making _light_ of my magic. i und- _ascend_ if it shocks you but its nothin to _float_ about. ”  
“Sans, no.” You pretended to grumble, failing to hold back your smile.  
“ fine. i guess some people just aren’t _up_ for my puns .”  
“Saaaaaaaaans.” You whined, laughter ruining the effect.

-

The ride home was easy, the two of you swapping banter like breaths. You hadn’t realised it, but you felt closer to Sans than ever after he officially declared you a friend. You had been afraid, irrational anxiety nagging at the back of your mind like a buzzing fly. You’d done too much, been too condescending, acted too indifferent. And you could never make up for it or begin to atone. Sometimes, you still felt that way. But Sans thought of you as a friend. That made things a little easier. After all, if he considered you a friend, perhaps the other monsters can forgive you too? You didn’t deserve it. You still wanted it.

Sans sat on the dashboard as usual, legs folded under him, right elbow digging into his knee as he propped his head against his palm. The sunlight bounced off his bones, making him glow like a strange skeleton angel.  
“Okay, okay. I got one.” You stifled a giggle, clearing your throat, “H-how did the octopus beat the shark in a fight?”  
Sans’ grin grew wider, his body leaning forwards towards you.  
“ how? ”  
“It-” you burst out in giggles again, forcing yourself to calm down, “It was well _armed_.”

Sans’ grin grew impossibly wide, eyelights shining. Then he let out a snort, giving you a slow clap.  
“ oh my stars, that one’s good. if i ever see Onionsan again, i gotta tell him that. ”  
“I’m assuming Onionsan is an octopus?”  
“ eh, kinda? he’s not really an octopus, just an octopus monster .”  
“Why is his name Onionsan?”  
Sans blinked, looking thoughtful.  
“ uh, i dunno. why’s my name sans? ”  
“Why?”  
“uhhhhh, i dunno...?”

You were at a red light so you allowed your stare to bore into Sans, completely unimpressed. Sans stared right back at you. Then you dissolved into a fit of laughter, shaking your head at the absurdity of everything. Then the light turned green and you had to pull yourself together, a smile still hanging off your lips.

You parked the car near your home, grabbing your bag off the floor to sling it over your shoulder. You made your way to the apartment, Sans chilling on your other shoulder. You lifted your hand, locking your car behind you. The headlights chirped in response.

The seasons were changing and it was getting slightly warmer every day. You weren’t one to hate the heat, but you always preferred the breezy atmosphere of spring. Thank goodness you weren’t allergic to pollen or anything like that.

You paused in your steps, stuttering to a stop. Was it just you or was your door open? It seemed to hang slightly ajar, swinging inwards and outwards as though the building breathed. The sunflower mood faded into something darker, humming ominously in the pit of your stomach.  
“Sans… Is it just me or…” You swallowed, tentatively moving closer again.  
“yeah. wait here a mo.”

There was a blue flash and the reassuring weight on your shoulder lifted. It was barely a heartbeat later when Sans reappeared at your feet, sockets dark as regret.  
“ we need to leave. ”  
“What?” Dread solidified in your gut and suddenly you were tearing through the distance between you and your home.  
“stop! bud, you shouldn’t-” Sans called after you, cutting off when you threw open the door.

The place was in shambles, furniture overturned, items smashed or knocked to the ground. Every drawer had been pried wide open, every nook and cranny violated and searched. You gaped in shock at the sight of the wreck, suddenly feeling very weak. Sans settled on your shoulder, tugging insistently at the lobe of your ear. You realised he was speaking.  
“ ...to leave, right now. you’re in danger and if you don’t move right now, i don’t know if i can help you. ”  
“W-what?” you managed through rapidly deepening breaths. Everything… Every single thing you owned…

Sans kept his voice low, pressing his skull to your ear. His teeth was smooth against your flesh.  
“ listen pal, whoever did this bugged the place. look, there’s a camera hidden right in front of us. now they’ve seen your face and you need to get the hell out of here. ”  
He tugged slightly too hard on your hair, practically snarling out, “ now .”  
Heart running on overdrive, mind blank in shock, your brain latched onto Sans’ words and the only thought reverberating through your head was run, run, run!

Your feet slapped against the pavement, chest constricting painfully from exertion and still healing ribs. You thought you might have been crying, but no sounds passed your lips except for the heavy rasping of breath.  
Run.

-

When you had run your panic into a dull stitch, you collapsed on a nearby park bench, breathing erratic and punctuated with coughs. You felt light, as though you were detached from your body and witnessing everything that was happening from another plane of reality. Nothing felt real. Your house was fine. This wasn’t happening. It couldn’t be.

Your heartbeat was too loud, drowning out the sounds of passing cars you could see speeding by. Everything was speeding. Everything was spinning. Too fast, too loud, too bright, too much. You were sure you were crying now, the world was blurry, like looking through someone else’s glasses. Your head pounded, your pulse hammering through your headache like a bent nail, an erratic thud, thud, thud, thud, thudthud, thud thud, thudthudthudthudthudthud-

Something gripped your wrists, pulling to your sides forcefully. Your panic heightened into a dizzy blur, struggling against whatever was holding you down.  
“focus! buddy, listen, can you hear me? come on pal, focus on me,” someone was talking to you. They sounded far away, as though they were shouting down a tunnel. “hey now, can you hear me?”

You blinked repeatedly, forcing your vision to clear. A palm-sized skeleton stood on your knee, left eye alight with a blue fire. There was a smear of something red on his grey hoodie. “that’s it. you’re fine. can you hear me, pal?”

You tried to respond to Sans, but only a hiccup escaped your parted lips. You clamped your jaw shut, willing yourself to breathe. You were panting heavily, everywhere on fire all at once. You were lightheaded.  
You nodded.  
“okay, alright. you’re fine, you’re fine. you gotta calm down.”

You tried to move your hands again, fear rising like bile when you were still trapped. You stared down at your arms, wrists encircled in blue magic and pinned to the bench. There was blood on your arms. There was red, red dripping and flowing, staining the white of your sleeve. Red, red, red terror jumping out at you, gaining height like the tide.  
“breathe! relax, i won’t hurt you. ’m not going to hurt you. breathe, slowly.” Sans tugged at the hem of your shirt. “listen to me, kay? focus. just breathe.”  
Some vague part of you informed that you had been thrashing like a wild animal again, hyperventilating. You listened to Sans.

“i have a plan, there’s somewhere we can go. you gotta trust me, but first, you need to calm down…” Sans spoke to you slowly but firmly, “i’m gonna let you go now. don’t hurt yourself.”  
The pressure around your wrists vanished, releasing you to your full range of motion. Sans watched you warily.  
You wiped the wetness from your face, swallowing thickly. You realised the blood was oozing out from crescent shaped wounds, five dotting the flesh on each arm.  
“you ok?” Sans pulled on your arm, interrupting your self-examination. He was afraid you might hurt yourself again.

You nodded, throat still too constricted to speak. You were still putting a conscious effort into regulating your breath. Slowly, in, and out. In, and out.  
“alright, take a sec to rest. but we gotta get moving soon. i need ya to listen to me carefully, kay? can you do that?”  
You nodded again, exhaling shakily.  
“W-where,” your voice cracked, “where are we going?”

  
“back to my place.” Sans winked as he carefully examined the damage done to your arms. You must have looked pathetic and confused because he clarified, “we’re goin back to the Underground.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> and so it begins :)


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warnings for some blood, some violence, car crashes, guns and minor character death.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heya! Name's Trinity. You can find me on...  
> tumblr: @infinitrinx  
> snapchat: @infintrinxx  
> insta: @infinitrinx  
> Drop by anytime!
> 
> Find my slave driver on...  
> tumblr: @taghashromer

Sans let you rest a little while more, curling up in the palm of your hands and letting you stroke his skull. You were calming down, slowly. Feeling was returning to your shaking limbs, creeping down your nerves, setting them alight with needles and pins. You continued your rhythmic movements, dragging the pad of your thumb against the side of his head.

You noted the small bumps and ridges there, the white bone had a slightly roughened texture. Sans had said, “focus on me.” So you did. Taking in the way his ribs expanded and contracted with each minuscule breath, the way the sag of his clothes draped across his bones, seeming to give him a gut.

You scratched at the bloodstain on his hoodie, feeling slightly bad about ruining it. Sans closed a hand around your finger, pushing it away from his chest. You marveled at how small he was, that his entire hand could wrap around only a single of your digits.  
“don’t worry about it, bud. you got the plan?” Sans patted your finger. You nodded.

Sans had said, “focus on me.” So you did. Drinking in the way his voice sounded as he talked, low and lazy. He described what you needed to do, where you needed to go. That you needed to trust him. Of course you did, that went without him even asking.

There were bad people after him. He was worth a lot of money. The only safe place for the both of you was to head back to the Underground, where Sans had a house to himself and the advantage of knowing the terrain. There were places to hide, things to salvage back there. That was more than what you had. You had nothing now. You trusted Sans.

The entrance to the Underground was a large cave located at a plateau beside Mount Ebott. Driving was not an option, the people after Sans knew who you were, thus your plate numbers. Whoever they were, they must have had some position of power to be able to track you. Sans deflected when you asked. You didn’t press the matter. You didn’t have any cash on you for a taxi or public transport either so the only option was to walk.

Sans was hesitant to bring it up, but you brushed away his concern. There wasn’t a better option and you wouldn’t let whoever these people were take him away. Something like determination shone in your eyes.  
After all, the mountain wasn’t that far away. You remember it being a 25-minute jog away from the apartment from that one month you tried exercising.  
You had traced your way down his tiny structure, picking apart the details of his anatomy when you realised…

“Sans wait, where’s your bandage? Are you okay? Does your leg hurt?” Somewhere along the way of your impromptu marathon, Sans had probably lost the bandage keeping his left tibia together. You ran the pad of your finger down the bone only to find… nothing. The fracture had completely healed, leaving the bone sturdy and definitely not what you were expecting. There was a small scar where the break had been, but other than that, Sans was completely fine.

“...What…?” You exhaled, examining the bone closely. This didn’t make any sense, Sans had the bandage on earlier. He’d even taken to changing it after every shower, worn it consistently in the slightly more than one week he’s stayed with you. It’s only been one week! How…?

“uhhhh,” Sans scratched the back of his skull, avoiding meeting your questioning stare. The blue glow of his blush stained the ivory of his cheeks, several beads of sweat had begun to gather on his brow.  
“anyways, it’s best if we keep off the main roads, avoid places where someone might just grab ya and drive off.” Sans said, tapping a finger against his femur, “it’ll take us longer. are you up for that?”

“Yeah, sure, anything. Sans, is your leg alright?” You asked, worried.  
Sans mumbled something, too soft and slurred to hear.  
“What?”  
“ I said, yeah… it’s fine… ” The blush on his cheeks deepened. Your eyes widened as you raised your palms upwards, bringing Sans to eye-level.  
“Fine for how long?”  
“uhhhh”

Sans appeared on your shoulder in a flash of blue, hiding his face from your view in the strands of your hair.  
“ if you’re feelin fine we should get goin as soon as possible .”  
You bit back a smile, wondering what on earth Sans had been up to.

-

According to your phone, you’d been walking for a little over an hour. The sun had set, leaving darkness to slink into it’s shift. Your feet were aching, your entire body felt exhausted. The strong emotions earlier had left you drained, now you were dragging your feet and stifling yawns at each turn. The orange streetlamps cast your skin in a sickly pallor, doing little to push back the dark except for individual circles of illumination beneath them. The streets were empty, devoid of potential enemies and aids alike. You’ve never come to this part of the area before.

Sans clung to your neck, giving out instructions every now and then on where to go. You were almost at the base of the mountain, the great landmark of your city, looming overhead just several streets away.  
Almost there.  
Your limbs were heavy.  
Almost there.  
Your injuries throbbed.  
Almost there.  
Your phone chimed.

 **_BZZT_ **  
Unknown: You’ve got something of ours.  
Your blood ran cold.  
**_BZZT_ **  
Unknown: Found you.

The alleyway to your right flooded with light, two headlights glaring at you through the dark as the engine of the car snarled. As you turned in surprise, throwing an arm up against the searing brightness, another vehicle roared to life behind you, casting your shadow long and alien on the tarmac surface. Your phone clattered to the ground.

“shit! move!” Sans bellowed, tugging sharply at your hair. The pain jolted through you igniting your body to fling itself out of the way just as the first car sped its way out of the alley, crashing into a garbage bin at the opposite end of the street. It was the same car that ran over Sans.

You landed on your hands and knees, scraping flesh against tarmac. You scrambled forwards, pushing off into a smaller alleyway where the cars could not follow. The screeching of rubber echoed behind you.  
“turn left! go!”

Adrenaline drummed in your veins, spiking your muscles into overdrive. You could hear the engines of the cars, grumbling closer and closer. Weaving through the smaller alleyways, you could see glimpses of the cars winding along the main road and larger spaces between buildings.  
“right!”

Their headlights shone hot on your heels, flickering through the spaces of buildings like the promise of something worse to come.  
“ wai-! ”  
There was a screech and a crash, the air felt hot. You screamed. One of the cars chasing you had crashed into a pedestrian car. Head on collision. A woman was slumped over in her seat.

You couldn’t stop.

You vaulted over the crumpled hoods where the cars met. Glass embedded itself into your palm. You ran.

Mount Ebott was closer than ever, just in your reach. Light shone on your from behind, casting heat into your flesh. You couldn’t breathe. You couldn’t stop. There were no more alleys to duck into, just open road and the stench of fear. The car had caught up to you. It was going to run you over. It was going to-

You reached the tree line just in time, slipping into the sanctuary of the forest trail. You heard the car skid to a stop. You looked back to see it stop just short of the treeline, dust blooming up into the air. Through the haze of dust, illuminated by the light, you saw 5 silhouettes emerge from the car.  
“Hurry up! Let’s go!”

You ran.

You could hear the people crashing through the underbrush behind you, snapping twigs and shining torches. Branches tore at your face, thorns ripped at your legs.  
“up that slope!” Sans hissed, holding onto the fabric of your shirt with all his might.

A root caught your foot and you found yourself tumbling, landing hard on the ground. The wind knocked itself out of your lungs, leaving you gasping for air. Sans flew off your shoulder, landing in the foliage with a light crunch of leaves.

He teleported back to you, hands pushing the hair back from your face as he shook you.  
“ get up! shit, pal. come on! ”  
You struggled to your feet, a pain flared in your ankle, nearly buckling your knees. You cursed, scooping Sans up before pressing on.

Light blinded your eyes.  
“I see her!”  
Suddenly, bones sliced through the air in a flash of magic, knocking the man’s torch out of his hand. You heard him yelp in pain. You ran.

The stabbing pain in your ankle brought tears to your eyes. Or maybe that was sweat. It trickled into your vision and stung your eyes, blurring your vision. Your breath was labored, each breath a torture in itself. You stumbled through the trail as fast as you could, somehow making your way up to a clearing…

Where a mini-settlement appeared to have been built.

Tall blocky buildings were crowded against the side of the mountain, complete with barbed wire fencing and oscillating searchlights. What appeared to be soldiers patrolled the area, standing guard around the structure.  
“the hell…?”

You could hear the men behind you. Threateningly close.You coughed and wheezed, lungs burning. The adrenaline was failing you. One of the guards (soldiers?) spotted you and reached for a walkie-talkie clipped to her hip. Her other hand drifted to her gun, approaching you with suspicion written in her atoms.  
“Who are you? State your business.” She barked out, grey eyes flashing. She caught sight of Sans.  
Her hand shot out to grab your wrist in an iron grip, dragging you back to the compound. You stumbled and fell, forehead pressed to the earth.

Then several things happened at once.

The men crashed through the tree line, “There she is!”  
“Wait shit.”  
“The hell is this?”

Sans conjured a set of bones and sent them flying at the guard, hitting her straight in the chest. She fell to the ground, spitting blood.

Except, she had whipped out her gun and fired. The shot shattered the night, driving a kick into the pit of your stomach. There was screaming from the men, the dull thud of someone falling to the ground.

You felt like puking.

“You little bitch!”  
One of the men flung themselves at the guard, holding a club studded with nails. She rolled out of the way, meeting his second blow with a baton. She grinned, teeth stained red.

Someone grabbed you, roughly yanking you off the ground by your forearm. You got a faceful of silver plated teeth and rancid body odour before he too was knocked to the ground, bones to the chest. You looked up and saw Sans bite down hard on a goon’s hand, tearing a cry from her lips. He dropped to the ground, eye positively blazing.

And suddenly there were skulls around him. Floating canine skulls, baring their teeth with rapidly widening jaws. Energy crackled in the air. Your hair stood on end.  
Pure blue energy came pouring out of their maws, a roaring shaking through your being, rattling your teeth. You vaguely thought it akin to standing next to a speaker blasting bass.

Then it was quiet. Your ears were ringing. Everyone else had joined you on the ground. The woman closest to Sans was unconscious, the rest merely stunned. One of the thugs swayed to his feet.  
It was the snatch thief.  
“2504, stop this, do not attack us and come here.”

Sans cursed, the glow in his eye sputtering out. He tossed an apologetic glance back at you before the collar around his neck lit up, tendrils of magic, the same colour as Sans’, wept out from the contraption like strings and wrapped around his limbs.

Sans stepped forward, jerkily. He clenched his fist as though fighting an invisible force.  
“s-sorry, pal.” he ground out between his teeth before he began walking forward again.

There was shouting, more flashlights. You heard a commanding voice barking orders in the distance and looked up to see reinforcement soldiers on their way, guns drawn.

You didn’t know what the hell was happening. You were scared out of your wits and battered beyond belief. But you would not let Sans go with these people, that much you knew. You lunged forward, snatching up your friend in your hand.  
The next thing you know, you’re falling,  
                                                              falling,  
                                                                          _f_

_a_

_l_

_l_

_i_

_n_

_g_

 

You hit the ground, hard. Pain arches through you. The last thing you see is Sans, sprawled across you on a bed of dead flowers. Then....  
Darkness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> um... I'm sorry?  
> actually, let's be honest, I'm not. I'm very not sorry.
> 
> is this confusing for you? action is really fast paced and i don't know if i did the scenes any justice. either way, if ya got questions, or think you spot another easter egg, bring em right here! down below in da comments!!!!
> 
> also, betcha the summary of the fic makes more sense now eh?
> 
> all credit for the concept of monster collars and how they control the monsters goes to the great and amazing Lavender_chan from their BEAUTIFUL fic, Hell Is A Place On The Surface. MORE LIKE HELL IS A PLACE MY FEELS WENT TO??
> 
> till next chapter!  
> Trin <3


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heya! Name's Trinity. You can find me on...  
> tumblr: @infinitrinx  
> snapchat: @infintrinxx  
> insta: @infinitrinx  
> Drop by anytime!
> 
> Find my slave driver on...  
> tumblr: @taghashromer

The first time you came to, it was dark. A rocky cavern of stalactites bared down upon you from above. Everything was hurting, aching and twisting and pulsing and breaking.You heard someone panting, the feeling of something running through your hair. You closed your heavy eyelids, letting the dark drag you down.

-

The second time you came to, it was warm. The welcoming temperature curling like tendrils of comfort against your skin and you realised you were very very cold. You were still curled on the ground, too weak and hurt to move a muscle. The room began to drift like a boat in a storm, rocking this way and that. A whine shattered past your lips as you squeezed your eyes shut against the nausea. A weight against your stomach lifted then ridiculously small hands cradled your face, wiping under your eyes.  
“shh, shh. it’s okay. you’re safe now,” there was a pause, “i promise i…”   
You never heard what he promised.

-

The third time you came to, you were somewhere soft. Pain radiated out from various parts of your body, washing over you like shockwaves from the epicentre of an earthquake. You had to peel your eyes open, lashes crusted and sticking to your cheeks. The room was too bright, shining brighter than dawn compared to the cool behind your eyelids. You slammed your eyes shut against the assault before slowly blinking them open, adjusting to the light.

The ceiling above you was a gentle red, the colour of childhood sweethearts, candy hearts and forgiveness. Cobwebs gathered in the corners of the ceiling, wafting into the air the stillness of a forgotten home. You couldn’t sit up, could barely move. Everywhere hurt. You parted dry lips to speak.

And coughed, a terrible hacking grating against the parched walls of your throat. Your ribs and back ignited with the action, drawing a pathetic whimper from you. There was a scrambling in the sheets beside you then the comforting gesture of something running through your hair. Your eyes fluttered open to find Sans, looking worse for wear and extremely worried. You licked your cracked lips, wincing at the flaking skin there.

“c’mon, let’s get you up, yeah?” Sans pushed gently at your shoulder. Slowly, very cautiously, you managed to sit up. There was a nudging at your hand, the feeling of something cold. You looked down to see Sans pushing over a glass of water, struggling slightly with the large mug. It was kind of cute. You grinned despite yourself, gingerly taking his offer of water.

Hydrated, you felt slightly better, easing yourself back down onto the pillows. You closed your eyes, feeling pained and fatigued. Something sticky and distinctly non-liquorice was pressed against your lips. You allowed it to be slipped into your mouth, appreciating the non-liquorice flavour. The slow spinning wrecking your head and stomach cleared some.

“Whe-” your voice cracked, breaking off from disuse, “Where are we?”  
“an old friend’s house. don’t worry, we’re safe here.” Sans sat beside you, eyes dim and drooping.   
“What?” You gasped, mildly alarmed, “How? I don’t… Where?”   
The last thing you remembered was being cornered, panicked, fleeing and terrified. You had been surrounded by foes on all sides, held down with no chance of escape. Then there was Sans, listening to those goons. And then...

“i took us here, used a shortcut.”  
“A shortcut…?”   
“yep.”   
It took your pain addled brain several more moments to process the information. Loading… Loading… Loading… 

“this was actually the queen’s old place. heh, hope that old gal is doing alright.”  
Wait, he _teleported_ you?   
“ya know, ‘m actually pretty bone tired,” Sans’ eyes drooped, small frame looking weighed down.   
“Sans I-” You tried pushing yourself up onto your elbows, giving up when the pain got too much, “thanks. For saving me, I mean, for bringing me- wait, we made it to the Underground? How?”

Your friend shrugged, seeming to force himself to stay awake.  
“just returning the favour.” A pause, “though, i gotta say, you look like shit. worse than i ever gotten and that’s sayin somethin.”

You couldn’t help it, you started laughing. You supposed you did look pretty bad, you definitely felt every inch of it. Sans had broken a leg when you found him. Now, you were battered and bruised, covered in dirt and blood which flaked off like dandruff, swollen and exhausted. Shit probably didn’t even cover it. Diarrhea was more like it.  
You couldn’t help it, the laughing. You started and you couldn’t stop, the jerking half-puffs of breath leaving pained lungs. Then you were coughing, doubling over as something inside you seized. Your shaking palm was covered in blood, dribbling down your lips. You swallowed, tasting bile mixing with the coppery tang, cringing hard.

Wiping the revolting mixture onto your already tattered and ruined jeans (what difference did it make to ruin it slightly more?), you noted Sans contemplating something, staring intensely at your sternum, both looking at it and not.  
“sit tight, pal. ‘m gonna try find something for ya.” Sans said, sliding down the duvet onto the floor. He landed with a small tap of bones on wood, strolling off with his hands in his hoodie pockets.

You swallowed again, trying to dispel the taste of pain lingering on your tongue. You felt lucky to be alive, so sure you were going to die on that mountaintop. It wasn’t a bad place to die, honestly. A clear view of the stars, trees parting like velvet curtains on a stage to reveal them. The view would have been great too, if only that weird settlement-military-base-thing wasn’t in the way. The hell was that anyway? From what you remember, the security level had been ridiculous, like something straight out of a dystopian movie.

How had you gotten into the Underground anyways? You were sure you had been in the right location, yet you don’t even remember seeing the entrance of the Underground Sans had described. Then again, you didn’t remember anything after you grabbed Sans and he- you shuddered- teleported you. You recalled the bovine skulls he had summoned, the sheer amount of power and energy crackling in the air, like the whipping winds of a tempest with Sans in the eye.

For someone so small, Sans packed a hilariously strong punch. You thought of the unconscious woman, the stunned men, there had been what… 6 of them? Suddenly, you were very relieved that Sans was on your side, that he could hold them off long enough for you to not die. And not dying was generally a good thing to have on one’s agenda.  
Generally.

There were clanging footsteps approaching, sounding like the strut heels in an empty lobby while somehow also carrying a heavy, clanging sound. You held your breath, panic rising within you. Had the people somehow found you? How did they get Underground? Shit, you’re gonna die. Right there and then, looking like two days old coagulated milk, able to do nothing but lie there and stare at whoever dealt the last blow. It was hardly fair.

Oh god, here they come. The noise got closer and closer, deafening in the quiet of the stagnant air. You held your breath, eyes wide and body tense.

Then out from the doorframe peeked a pink and black robot. You spotted Sans sitting on the robot’s shoulder plate and relaxed slightly, although your eyes still traced their progression towards you with wariness. The robot strut their way across the room, pursing full pink lips. Their hips swayed with each step, heels rapping against the wooden floor. It looked like the boots were part of the body. The robot moved with a tired elegance, whispering of secret drama. With the hourglass body, you were slightly surprised when the robot spoke in a lower, masculine voice.  
“Hello, darling. You must be Sans’ friend.”   
The robot took a seat at the edge of your bed, holding himself primly.   
“My name is Mettaton, I’m here to help.”

You nod, not knowing what else to do. This was the Mettaton from Sans’ stories? You thought he’d be… boxier. And more obnoxious. Mettaton looks down at you, eyes alight with pity. He sweeps a lock of hair behind your ear, anxiously cataloging your impressive collection of injuries. Then he hooks an arm beneath your neck, resting your head in the crook of his elbow. The other arm loops under your knees, before he gently lifts you towards him. Your breath hitches when a small current of pain shoots up your body. Absently, you note how funny it is that his arms are disproportionately long to his body.  
“Where we goin…?” You slur, feeling the room tilt as Mettaton stands.   
“so, remember when i said we’d be the only ones down here?” Sans drawls, looking even more drained than before, “yeah, not the case.”

Mettaton shoots Sans a ‘Gee You Don’t Say’ look and you can’t help the edges of your lips tugging upwards. Your friend looks about ready to pass out, eyelights clearing in and out of focus.

“turns out there’s a camp of free monsters down here, tucked away and safe from humans.”  
“Sorry.” You cringe. Mettaton begins descending a flight of stairs in the house and you find the sway of his gait is comforting. He stops in his tracks at your apology, tilting his head in acquisition. His hair is jet black, glossy like magazine covers he looks like he’d belong on. He appears to be searching for something in your expression. Sans clears his throat and Mettaton looks away, humming thoughtfully. You notice his voice sounds slightly electronic, like someone talking through a spinning fan. Then again: Robot. Duh.

The basement is cold, a chilly draft cutting through you like a ghost and you shiver. Mettaton walks down an eerie corridor. You turn your face into the robot’s chest, closing your eyes. Then it’s suddenly bright and even colder. Suddenly you hate the fact that Mettaton is made of metal. You feel the icy temperature settling onto your skin in rapid tiny pinpricks. You open your eyes to find it is snowing.

Overgrown trees reach their branches towards you, hanging low and wild. Fallen logs, rotting twigs and a dense cushion of snow and leaves litter the ground. Although, it was evident that once, this was a path. Your hair stands on its end, not only because of the cold, but because something about this place feels very very wrong. It took you awhile, but eventually, you realise its because the forest is devastatingly silent. There was not hum of insects, nor rustle of leaves, nor scampering of woodland creatures. It was completely devoid of animal life, a forest ruled entirely by flora.

Eventually, you pass an unsteady bridge and something in Sans’ grin looks pained.  
“welcome, to snowdin, pal.”

Mettaton walked past rotting sentry posts, roofs caved in and wood frozen through. You were shivering violently, clenching your jaw for fear of biting your own tongue in your shuddering. You closed your eyes, willing yourself to tough it out just a little more. You were almost there.

“Legs, do ya mind dropping by my place for awhile? looks like our friend might need a moment to _chill_.” Sans said.  
“Oh! I’m so sorry, darling. Yes, of course.” Mettaton sped up his pace, arriving at a quaint, if slightly run down, dwelling. Broken christmas lights dangled from the roof. The house could have been a pig’s pen for all you cared, but it felt amazing to be out of the bitter wind. Mettaton set you down on a dusty green couch before perching onto the armrest.

You curled in on yourself, trying to bury yourself into the folds of the sofa. Then a weight appeared on your back, something warm and furry was tucked over you. You fell asleep, trying to seek a warmth that was not there.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! Thanks for reading dude.  
> I'm seriously irritated by reader. HOW ARE YOU SO UNOBSERVANT?? HOW CAN YOU NOT DRAW CONCLUSIONS AND INFERENCES?? oh myg od. why does it take you so long to realise things holy shit.
> 
> So, uh. Comment, kudos, share? I'd love to hear from you, especially any feedback. Sorry, reader is gonna be sleeping a lot because thats what sick people do. Like they're a literal punching bag I feel kinda bad for hurting a single person so much in a fic.
> 
> Anyway, see you in the next chapter!  
> Trin <3


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heya! Name's Trinity. You can find me on...  
> tumblr: @infinitrinx  
> snapchat: @infintrinxx  
> insta: @infinitrinx  
> Drop by anytime!
> 
> Find my slave driver on...  
> tumblr: @taghashromer

The first thing you heard when you woke was yelling.

“-your own brother! Are you telling me you slacked off on that? Like everything else, are you saying you took a break? Well-”   
“you shut up! you don’t know what the hell it’s like up there, who the fuck gives you the right to even say anything about how i-”   
“I CARE ABOUT HIM, SANS.” A sigh, “I care about Papyrus and that concern gives me every right to know if he’s alright.”

“who gave you the right to care?”

Silence. You shivered, drawing the wooly material around you tighter.   
“P-Papyrus is fine.” You cleared your throat, feeling tension palpable in the air, “He’s with one of my students. She takes good care of him, d-don’t worry.”

You buried your face into the cushion, anxious to meet anyone’s gaze. You listened to the telltale clanking of Mettaton’s footsteps. The couch dipped.   
“Are you feeling better, darling?”   
You risked a peek out from your cover. Mettaton sat beside you, running fingers through his immaculate hair. You hadn’t noticed before but his midsection was transparent, a gleaming white heart suspended within it. Mettaton smirked at your staring, albeit half-heartedly, and your cheeks flushed with a welcome heat.   
“Yeah. Kinda. I mean, everything still hurts but I’m not as cold. And not feeling like passing out is a bonus.”

Mettaton let out a tinkling laugh at that.   
“You’re hilarious, darling, astounding. Are you ready to leave?”   
You pushed your aching body upright until you were sitting up with heavy support from the armrest. You realised the warmth covering you was a blue fur-lined jacket and eagerly slipped it on. The soft fur in the sleeves tickled your skin in a pleasant way, trapping much-appreciated body heat. You wondered who’s jacket it was and felt slightly guilty for stealing someone else’s clothes. Mettaton slipped his arms under you again, tucking you against his chest. He marched out the door without a second glance to the skeleton on the table, who had to frantically teleport into your arms to not be left behind.

-

At some point, Sans had crawled into the pocket of the jacket for a nap. He curled up against your side, clearly exhausted. You wondered how hard it was for him to get you to safety and even find help. Your heart swelled with gratitude.

At some point, the whistling of bitter winds died down and falling snow bowed to a different kind of wet. “Waterfall.” Mettaton had told you was the name of the place when you asked. It was beautiful. Water glowed a luminescent teal, the flora around a similar brilliant shade. Either that or shaded in a tranquil dark where the ever steady drip, ebb and flow of water soothed away your aches.

Mettaton trudged on, complaining slightly to no one about the humidity of the area and what it might do to his hair. You gazed up at the robot, set against a backdrop of winking glimmers in the stone ceiling above him. He was gorgeous, the whole package of high cheekbones and long lashes. But you especially liked the changing pattern of metal on his face, the material lighter on one patch than another. You could hear his gears whirring if you pressed your ear against his chest.   
“Hey Mettaton?” You asked shyly.   
“Yes, darling?” The robot gazed down at you through full lashes.   
“Thank you for helping me.”   
Mettaton’s attention flickered back on your current path. He smiled somewhat dryly. He hummed a vague response.

-

You were sweating by now, the humidity had been gradually transitioning into heat. Still, you were wary of taking off the sweater, lest you wake Sans. He seemed pretty out of it and you wondered again how much effort it took him to get you to safety. You felt bad.

“Not much further now. This is Hotland.” Mettaton announced, shifting you slightly in his hold. Hotland was indeed a hot land. Then again, it seemed like all the places were named like a Temblr shitpost. Waterfall was where water fell, in Snowdin you were perpetually snowed in. What’s next? Dryplace as a desert themed landscape?

Mettaton carried you along metal bridges and barren slopes, beneath you churned an expansive pool of molten magma. If this is the Underground, you wouldn’t be surprised if that would be part of the mantle. Or perhaps, the Underground was located along a fault line? Then again, Mount Ebott didn’t have any volcanic activity…

You entered a building, the doors gaping wide upon your arrival. You appeared to be in a laboratory, a surprisingly clean laboratory. Every dwelling or infrastructure had been graced with a dusting of abandonment, hollow caskets of memories that used to be. But the lab, oh, it was alive. The electricity was working, for starters. The hum of machinery and buzzing of operation, of living, lit up the air like relief. Mettaton sauntered across blue tiles, heels truly echoing now in typical Hollywood style; even clacks on marble in a large lobby. The sound that meant business.

You entered what seemed to be the toilet, but turned out to be an elevator. Mettaton calmly thumbed the button to close the doors, and without even selecting a floor, the elevator began to descend.   
“Don’t panic.” He simply said.

Then suddenly, the elevator jolted to a stop, jostling your body and drawing a whimper. There was a beat of stillness, of too quiet, where your heart had decided to home in your throat. Something in the jacket pocket moved, “wha…?”

Without warning, the lift gave out from under you, hurtling down, down, down while your stomach seemingly detached itself to stay behind several floors above. The screen display depicting floor levels flashed red.   
**WARNING! WARNING!**   
Everything was shaking, the walls were screeching.    
**ELEVATOR LOSING POWER!**   
Or maybe that was you. It sounded like metal on metal, grating screams of falling too far too fast oh god.   
**EM TETHER STABILITY LOST!**   
Mettaton clamped a hand over your mouth, looking irritated. You gasped into it, heart pounding, eyes wide.   
**ALTITUDE DROPPING!**

This was it. You’re gonna die. You made it this far, running from thugs and military and cars only to be defeated by an elevator.

The lift blacked out, slowing down and shuddering to an anticlimactically gentle stop. You were breathing hard, shuddering slightly. Your throat felt raw. The doors slid open with a mockingly smooth whoosh. You felt like a cat who had just been thrown into a pool.

Mettaton snorted, yes snorted, rather than breathed out his laugh. Frankly, you felt slightly offended. That was, until you realised the robot wasn’t laughing at you, but at the skeleton who clung to your shirt. If you were a cat yowling in a pool, Sans was the one which jumped straight up into the air and clung to the ceiling by its claws, tail all poofed up.

No joke, Sans had pressed his entire body to your chest, hands and feet sprawled and digging into the fabric of your clothes. He was stiff as a metal rod, sockets blank. His jaw was set in a tight grimace.   
You couldn’t help but deflate a breathless giggle.

“Holy shit.” Sans’ pupils faded back into view and he scowled. You couldn’t stop giggling. “Oh my fuck!”

Mettaton rolled his eyes, but was evidently enjoying your reactions. He adjusted his grip on you, making sure you wouldn’t fall.   
“Ladies, gentlemen, and everything in between. I present to you, the smart, the beautiful, Doctor Alphys!”

There, waiting for you on the ground, was the smallest dinosaur you’ve ever seen.   
“I-I’m sorry about the elevator… It’s a-actually a funny story!”   
“...” Everyone waited for said story.   
“...” Alphys twisted her tiny labcoat between claws.   
“I… Uh… Oh! Right, y-you’re hurt. Please, t-this way. I’ll try to help... maybe.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alphys, child, get a grip on your awkward.  
> Also, yes I ship Papyton. I have yet to decide if I wanna make it anything more than subtext in this fic. What do you guys think?  
> Mettaton is always portrayed as a rather two-dimensional character in most fics, most authors choosing to focus only on the dramatic facet of Leg. But I honestly find that Leg is a very fun character to psychoanalyse, so enjoy some MTT character facets and stuff I guess.
> 
> Thanks for readin!  
> Trin <3


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heya! Name's Trinity. You can find me on...  
> tumblr: @infinitrinx  
> snapchat: @infintrinxx  
> insta: @infinitrinx  
> Drop by anytime!
> 
> Find my slave driver on...  
> tumblr: @taghashromer

Mettaton followed Alphys through several dark hallways. The place was excruciatingly clean, if run down. Cracks struck their way across the tiles, reaching out likes lightning strikes. You came to a set of double doors where Mettaton withdrew several coloured cards and inserted them into slots. It seemed like the basement was ridiculously secure.

You passed gatherings of curious little monsters, crowding forward to catch a glimpse of you while shrinking away at the same time. You caught the eye of a fly-ghost-monster who squeaked and immediately looked away.  
“It’s a human!”  
“There’s a human in the Underground!”  
“They’ve found us, they’re gonna kill us all now…”  
"Don't worry bro, I'll brotect you bro."

You hid your face against the metal of Mettaton’s chest, not ready to face the monsters’ judgment. Their stares plastered themselves onto your back, clinging to your skin like leeches. It was a relief to arrive in a smaller, sectioned off room. An old television was inlaid into the wall and several hospital beds were pushed against it. Mettaton set you down on one before bending down to pick Alphys up and place her next to you.

Sans crawled out from a fold in the jacket.   
“hey Alph.”   
“Sans! H-how have you been?” Alphys brightened up, pushing her glasses up her snout, “Who i-is…?” She trailed, off seeming to blanch as she stared in horror at Sans’ collar. Sans shifted uncomfortably, fists clenching before he stuffed them into the pockets of his hoodie. You wondered what the statistics meant.   
“wish i could say otherwise, but uh, i’ve been better. anyway, that’s not the point. could ya…” Sans gestured to you.   
Alphys tore her eyes away from the collar, hunching in on herself.   
“Y-yes, of c-course!” She said, scrambling to your side. She looked uneasy.

The yellow monster hopped up onto your sternum, catching slightly on your bruised ribs. You tensed and she squeaked a startled, “S-sorry!” Alphys stared intently at- wait no- through your chest before she reached out in a grabbing motion. You felt a tug from within and the room darkened, fading away in a haze. Yellow light illuminated the dark, warming around you gently like a campfire. You stared, fascinated, as the yellow glow rose from your chest, bathing Alphys in it’s colouration. It was a heart, a floating yellow heart.

Alphys considered the heart thoughtfully before pushing it back into you, where it sunk through your flesh and disappeared completely. The room seemed to fade back into existence. You gasped, blinking and touching your chest in confusion.   
“What was that?”    
“your soul.” Sans grinned, looking less tense than before. He turned to Alphy, “so doc, what’s the diagnosis?”

Alphys looked through your chest thoughtfully. “Well, the HP isn’t that bad, although restoring it to maximum levels would be best. Monster food can only help so much though, since the injuries are entirely physical.”   
She turned to Mettaton, who was leaning against a wall and filing his pink nails.   
“Mettaton? Could you get some instant noodles from the stock?”   
“Sure thing, darling.” He replied, swaying out of the room.

Alphys turned to Sans. Her eyes landed on his collar again before she forced herself to look him in the eyes.   
“W-we’re going to have to set whatever broken bones there are a-and just let human b-bodies do their… h-healing… thing....”    
“what about internal bleeding or anything like that? everything gonna heal fine?” Sans asked. You felt like a pet being brought to the vet.   
“It… s-should! I-I think. Monster food w-would quicken the h-healing process and reduce risk of permanent damage.”   
“ok.”

There was a stretch of awkward silence where Alphys began to sweat. Sans cleared his throat. You couldn’t bear it.   
“Hey Alphys?” You asked, startling the jumpy little monster. She turned to you, blushing and sweating. “How come Mettaton is still big?”

From your understanding of what Sans told you, all the monsters began shrinking several days after the barrier was broken until they had reached their current heights. If Mettaton was a monster, how was he still big sized? The thought occurred to you earlier, when futilely trying to hide from the gawking attention you were getting from tiny monsters, left and right. Still, then was hardly the place nor time to ask. Besides, it might have been rude.

“Oh! Um, w-well.” Alphys scratched her neck with a sharp talon, “Unlike m-most monsters, Mettaton is actually more physical. His body is made more of metal than magic, so the Great Diffusion affected him less. I just had to tweak his chassis to a more physical functionality when the process first began, the magic is still there but more internal. Since Mettaton is already fused with his chassis, the process was made even easier.”

“wait, wait. what’s the Great Diffusion?” Sans interjected, eyes wide and interested.   
“T-that’s the name I came up for the large scale diffusion of m-magical energy… event… that I’ve been researching on. I believe i-it’s what caused all this in the first place!” Alphys explained, looking more and more excited.

“hold the phone. explain it from the top.”

“Um, okay. S-so, when the Barrier was put up, it’s intention was to keep all monsters sealed Underground, yes? That includes m-monsters that could, say, phase or teleport or burrow through things- like you, Sans! Meaning, the Barrier had to be imp-permeable to all magical energy, forming a complete seal around the Underground. Now, the humans, overtime lost their ability for magic because the magical energy in their surface atmosphere eventually depleted. Energy cannot be created nor destroyed, merely transferred or transformed. Now, I’m... not very sure on how the magical energy got depleted, but I’ve narrowed it down to two viable theories. Either the humans, as physical beings, used their magical energy and converted it into other forms of energy like light, heat and kinetic energy when they used their abilities less and less. See, if the magic is not used, human bodies tend to draw on extra energy in their bodies to convert it into something else. However, I also believe that the magical energy could have been lost to the atmosphere like the long-wave radiation of light energy. I doubt the ozone layer is impermeable to magic… But ultimately, the loss of this form of energy comes down to the fact that humans did not convert other forms of energy into magical energy to renew the concentration of magical energy. Wait, why is that?”

Alphys turned to you, eyes wide. You were still struggling to wrap your head around everything. Magic was real and apparently a form of energy. Who would have known?   
“I didn’t even know magic existed. Actually, I doubt anyone even believes in its existence, other than little kids.”   
“use it or lose it.” Sans shrugged. 

“A-anyway,” Alphys continued, “the concentration of magical energy on the surface was significantly lower than the concentration in the Underground. So when the Barrier was broken-”    
“the magic Underground diffused out onto the Surface…” Sans breathed.   
“Yes, e-exactly. Except, the Surface is really large compared to the Underground, so the excess magic in the Underground’s atmosphere wasn’t enough and the magical energy monsters naturally possess was also leached of into the surroundings. Since monsters’ bodies are made of magic, our forms decreased in size as our magical composition was worn into the atmosphere. I suspect the only thing keeping us in existence is the dense gravitational effect monster souls have on magic, allowing us to maintain our current forms.”

Mettaton returned to the room, handing you a packet of dry instant noodles.   
“Eat it dry, darling. Tastes much better.”

“and is there a way to reverse this phenomenon?” Sans asked, watching you tear into the packet of food.   
“I… T-that’s actually what I’m t-trying to figure out…” Alphys blushed, ashamed.   
“need help? it’ll be just like the old days.”   
“Uh, well. A-actually, I… Yeah! Okay, w-why not?” Alphys laughed nervously, wringing her hands.

“if ya don’t need any help, there’s no need to fibula.” Sans grinned, leaning onto your forearm.   
“No! No, I mean. I-it’s fine. I don’t mind, we could use all the help we c-can get.” Alphys cringed behind her claws.

“Mettaton, c-could you help me to the lab?” She hopped onto the robot’s outstretched palm.   
“You coming with, Sansy?” Mettaton raised a perfectly arched brow.   
“Nah, i’m beat. Maybe next time.”

Mettaton strut out the door, pausing in the door frame. He gave you a flashing smile.   
“Call me if you need, anything at all, love.”  
“I-I’ll be back later with things for your injuries!”

Sans slid down the support of your forearm, leaning into the crook of your elbow. He scrubbed a hand down his face and sighed. You reached out with your other hand to pet him on the head.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SCIENCE!  
> There'll be more where that came from.  
> Also, this chapter addresses some of the questions you guys have been asking me. Don't worry, if you spot a plot hole or have a question, most likely it'll be addressed later in the plot too. Don't hesitate to ask, though!
> 
> Poor Sans. Poor reader.


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heya! Name's Trinity. You can find me on...  
> tumblr: @infinitrinx  
> snapchat: @infintrinxx  
> insta: @infinitrinx  
> Drop by anytime!
> 
> Find my slave driver on...  
> tumblr: @taghashromer

You bit down hard on the strip of leather Alphys had procured from somewhere. It tasted musty and old on your tongue. But that hardly mattered. Your body shook as you clenched your eyes shut, trying to choke back the whimpers threatening to spill out into the room. Sharp stinging pain assaulted your palms. Sans held your wrists down with his blue magical energy while Alphys carefully extricated the shards of glass from your flesh.

Your fingers felt sticky, coated in what you knew would be your own blood. You clenched your eyes shut harder, taking immense efforts to keep your hands from curling into fists.  
“A-almost done!” Alphys said, tugging on something wedged into the meat of your thumb. Your breath quickened, leaving in desperate puffs from your nose.  
You heard the sloshing of liquid and tensed further, bracing for the burning of alcohol on your wounds.

The procedure couldn’t be over fast enough. Thankfully, it wasn’t long before your hands were wrapped snugly in cotton and gauze. Your jaw hurt from biting down so hard.  
“W-wait! Don’t stop biting yet.” Alphy said, scurrying down to your swollen ankle. “This is d-dislocated. I need to set it.”

You gulped, looking down the length of your body at her. Sans pet your arm gently.  
“it’ll be over soon, pal. Alph, do it on the count of three, kay? one-”  
Your ankle was popped back into it’s socket with an overwhelming shock. This time, you really did scream, arching off the mattress in pain. Panting, you spat the leather out of your mouth, glaring up at the ceiling as you tried to collect yourself.

“Sans!” Alphys shrieked, claws over snout.  
“sorry.” He shrugged,

“What… the fuck.” You panted, still glaring unhappily at the ceiling. There were spots of mold in the left corner, dark brown mottling the texture of the ceiling to creep down the walls too.  
“I-I’m sorry! It w-wasn’t, I d-didn’t…”

You struggled onto your elbows to glare at Sans.  
“What the _fuck_ ?”  
He shrugged sheepishly, dragging a hand down his neck.  
“sorry pal, needed to be done.”

Alphys called for Mettaton who passed you a mug of warm water before exiting the room. She threw a wary glance back towards the both of you, strangely focused more on Sans who pointedly looked away.

You had asked him about it earlier when waiting for Alphys and Mettaton to return. After the pair had left, the slightly eerie room got uncomfortably quiet. Sans hadn’t moved from where he had slumped down against your arm, one leg folded up with the other extended before him. He rested an elbow on his raised knee, hand braced against his brow bone.

“What was that about?” You forced a grin, nudging your friend. Sans sighed heavily before lowering his knee, stuffing his hands into the pockets of his bloodstained grey hoodie. He leaned further back against you, craning his neck to meet your concerned stare.  
“nothin ya need to worry yourself bout.”

“Don’t go all macho-man ‘everything is fine I’ll bottle up all my problems to act all tough’ bullshit with me, Sans. Gotta tell your bestie everything.” You frowned, rolling your eyes.  
Sans’ sockets widened, grin turning into something more like a smirk.  
“i’m your bestie?”  
“Uh, duh. You saved my life like twice and we’ve been roomies for a week and hung out so much. I even cried in front of you, of course you’re my bestie!”

A cute little blush had dusted itself across Sans’ smug, pleased face.  
“you call that being roomies?” He raised a brow bone (What, how? Ugh, nevermind; magic.) and crossed his arms. You felt guilty immediately, suddenly unable to look him in the eyes.  
“Um, I’m… I didn’t know, I’m sorry. I still feel really… I-”  
“woah, hey, hey. relax, m’ just teasing ya. i said we’re good, remember? i meant it, still do.”

You nodded, easing back into the pillow set behind your head, completely unaware of the painful ordeal you’d experience when Mettaton and Alphys returned. At least that was over.

You drained your cup, setting it on the floor with a soft clink, before snuggling into the slightly lumpy hospital bed. Sans made to slide down onto the floor before something occurred to you.  
“Hey, wait.” Sans paused, legs dangling over the edge. “You still haven’t told me what’s up.”

“ceiling.” He smirked then blinked out of existence in a flash of cyan.

-

Everything was dark. Everything was nothing. You were shivering, not from the atmosphere being cold, but the fact that it was neither hot nor cold nor anything in between. It was nothing, a complete lack of sensation which was disconcerting in the greatest way, sending unsettled shudders through your frame.

_H̖e͈͟l̲̮̠̠̫l̨͍̭̙͕ò͉͔͍,͘ ͚c̝͍h̙̦̕i̹͎l҉̼̱̠̖ͅd̕.҉_

You started at the… not sound. There wasn’t a resonance which reached your ears, no. There was nothing. Somehow, the words seemed to stem from within your subconscious, manifesting like thoughts planted into your brain. You blinked into the inky blackness, whipping your head back and forth. It was so strange, to see nothing. Raising a hand to your face, you accidentally poked yourself in the eye trying to feel if they were indeed open.  
A chuckle wormed its way into your thoughts.  
_C̜̤͇̖̕a̛̻̥̣̣͢r̩̠͎͡ę̜͞f̵̷̜̻͉̳̦u҉͈̲͎͘ͅl̜͚̤͇͔̞̹͕ͅ,̛͏̸̙͙͖̥̘ ̷̣͓̘̭͔̹̺̰n̷̘͍͇̭͖͉̹͍ǫ̤͇͈͕w̨͎̟̟̻̫͕̗͖̺͝.̴͇ ̩̜̳͇͔̭͚D͉͉̰̰͉̫͇̙̀͟͝o̢̧̠̲̕ṇ̵̨͙̪͟'͍̟̲̭͜ṭ̨͚͕̳ͅ ̵̲̬̯̟h̜̳̭̳̱̦͓̜̕ù̵̟̺̟̱̭͚̟͜r҉҉҉̠̙͓̲̺̻t͇̼ ͕͖̻̘̝̗͢y̵̸̸̩̦o̰̳̯̝ͅu̧̹̳͚̙̺͉̥͡r̸̶̤̥̼̮̟̲̦͉s̠̰͖̳e̷̝̹̼̥͎l̩̬̬̜f̗̜͠.͚̮̗̱͉̬͖ͅ  
_  

You opened your mouth to speak, but no words left your mouth. Air refused to rush past your lips and that was when you realised, there wasn’t any air. Panic seized you for a moment before you realised you weren’t in pain nor on the brink of suffocation. Somehow, the voice seemed to hear you anyway.

_W̙̬̊̓ͩ̌̽h͙̬̮͔̭̮o̜̙̹̪̯ͮͨͯ͋ͧ̚ ͚̮̣͕̩ͫ́I̹͆ͭ͡ ͎ͯ̈́͗͑ͩ͑a̮̭̳̙ͥ̔ͨ̓m̲͉̦̒ ̶̰̥͎͍̓̃ͮ̋i̻̝̫ͤ̆̊̌s̹̮̝̗̽ ͉͍̈ͭ͛ͫͣ͑n̼͈̲̯͕ͯ̌ͥ̌ͭ̑ͨ͟o͈̲͔̼̤͖ͭt͙̠̞͔ͮ͐̆̚ ͚͍̖̫̯̓̐̍͂̎͛̕i̘̩̼̳̼͕̿ͤ̈́ͩ̀̚m͚̰̲̪͕͈̜̐ͭ̇̉̾͆̔p͈̠͈ͥ̇́͡oͪ̔͘r̠̊ͩ̌ͥ͛ͪ͞t͉̱̻͕̣̄̔̃ą̩͆ͨ͆̂ń͎͚̤͕̼̼̭̎ͤ̑ͭͥtͬ͂̂ͫ̅́.̱̤͆̈ͬ̊ͤ ͎̥̙͖͇̇ͦ̇ͨ̊͌̿́Ï͕̜̣̝̬̞̿ͤ̽̈́ͫ͑n̝̦͂ ̞͚̝̭͇̤͊̒ͪ̿ͅf̛̙̘̋͋͒̏ąc̠͇̄͘t̰͓͈̼̫͂̿͛͊̌,̡̺̹͈͎͈ͅͅ ̫̟̉͋͟Í̭̲̭̄̾̂̄̆͐'̡͙̫̾m̱̱̭͙̳̈̈ͥ ̟͔̜̣̤͔̙ͥ͋̔ͬͤ̀̀n͈͓̮̠̘ͧͩ͗͑ot̜͚͇͋ͥ̉ͥ ̖̮̞̘̓ͪͮt̸̬̖͎̫̩̜ͮ̍̄̆͋͑ͅḥ̛̼͉ͦa̳̘̦͇̮̳ͫ͢t̷̤̓̑͒̏̉̉ ̶͍̠̾̑ͮͤ̾ͭͩi̱͚̲̮̘͙̝ͯ̊ͧ͝mͬp̛̭̼͚͒̏̓ͬ͑̔̎o̺͈͖̹̼͛̑̒̏ͫͅr̞͖̖̭̳͉ͬͬ̄͂́t̥̥̜͔͌ͯͧ͑̆͛͟ả̏̒̌͛̚͡ņ̌̽ͤͯt̺͉͕͎͉̅.̈҉͇̣̟̰ ͉̖̗̭̏̒Y҉̜͚̪͎̹ö̯̬̞̈́ͧ͆̈́ṵ̱͍ͭͯ̿ͨ̚,̹͕̙̝̪̃ͬͯ̍ ̻̲͖̙̇̌́̏͑͊ͧo̝̞̼ͥ̀͐͢n͉̝̥͓͈̦̒̌ͩ̈͊̎ͬ ̹͋ͩͯ̿ͯt͖̽͘h͔̮̭̣̝͑ͅe̒̒҉̖̤͚͓̞ ̮͑́̿͟ͅo̴̪̫͚̟̎͂̃ͪ̐͛̈t͓͕͎̯͈͓̑hͨ̑̆̇̓ͩ̉͡ę̲̝̙͚͈̀r̹̤̹̯͗̆ ̣͇͚̘̙̎̅̏̈̀ͅh͖̓̀̏͂̍͐ͪa͓̘̳͉̣̫̋ͯ͑́͢n̖͎͖͓͚ͪ͑ͅd͎͞.̛͕̺͉̦̌ͥ̌ͪ̓̒ͮ.̜̻̈́̀ͮ̅̃̎.̂̊ͩͨ̍̑̎_

A pause, you could feel someone’s eyes on you.

_  
H̛̍̏ͪm̢ͧ̐͒,̋̍ͨ͜ ͂a͗̒̉͂̈͝ ̉͠g̅̐̈́ͦͩ̌̌o̓̉͞oͣd͋̍́̈́ͦ ͮͦͥ̎s͂͌̌̐́ou͞l͛ͬ.̴̃̒ͬ͌ ̒͛͞Y͆̓̿oͤuͤ̀̒'̈͆́̽͐͗l̇͑̒͛̈́l̑͌̿ͭ̉͂̚͝ ͫ̾͆҉d͆ͪͥ͋͝o̾̊҉ ̷̉ͧ̓v̋̅e͂̉̈́̽̄̿r̊ͦ̑ͣy̢͋͑ ̔͛ͥ͐̋͞n̊ͯͪ͊ͮ̆i̔͝c̉͌eͨ̕l̵̿͂y͝.̆̈́̒̋_

Now you panicked. What did the voice mean? Where were you? What does he have planned? Is he going to hurt you?  
_Rel͖̠ͅa̢x̴͖̯̫̬͖,͕̻̖ ҉̟̘͇͉͓͇c̘̙̜̖̦̹h͙̬̖̠͞i̵͖l̳͉̀ḍ̥͇̩̲̤̻.̗̪̩͖̮̣̯ ͎̲̣̦̱ͅͅI̧̖̪̤͉̱̯̤'̗̩̳̹̭̙̦m̖̣ ̯̳̰͓̩no̤̯̝͓t ̨̹͉̟̗̫gò̙̣̩í̼ng͖ ͙ͅț̲͔ǫ̮̠͎̜̜ͅ ̸͎̗̖͙̦͓̺h͖̪͎̗̮͎͝ú̻̠̮͓͓̦r͘t̟̟̼͙͇̲̝͞ ̤̻̳̯y̟̮̯̠̜o͈̫u̺̝͚̹̼͎̭.̨͖̭̟͎ ͖̺̠̺̻̙̗͡O̥̣̰̤n̖̞̺̗̞̜͇ ̧̩̲̣̟t̛h͉̝͎͝e̸̻̰͈̞̤͈ ͚̫͖̤̜c̯̤̗̣̯͙ͅo͟n̰t̢̟̯̱̹͓r͡a̴͖̮̘̗̦̟ͅry,͟ͅ ̧̫̻̫Í͉̩̙̗̩ ̰͖̮̞͇͔̕b͔͓́ṟ̸̥̯i̛̞͉ng͓͖̟̤̮̦͜ ҉͍̠͚͓͎̠̼a̕ḓ̷̝̖ví̯̞͚̞͙̲c̴̱̭͓̖̦ͅe̹̹̥̲͕_

Advice…?  
_T͕͈̜̺i̜͍mes̞ ̞͈̗̤a̖̮h̖̳̞͚̰ead w̙͓͍͇il̟͕ͅl̹͉͔͓̹͙ ͍̦͚b͔̱̩͔̥̝̭e͓ ̗͓̫͔̭t͖̩o̤̩̪u̖̟͖̖̠̯gh͓̰̣̥͕.̰̭͎ͅ ̼͖I͕͈͕̞̻ͅ ̝͉wi̱̟̠̙̦͍̙s͍͕h̩̟̤͉ I̗̜͙ͅ c͖͚̥̞͈̝̟ọ̬̳̰u̖̗l̬̯̞ͅd͙̗̤̤͇ ͖͓͚he͎̞l̞̩̦͉̼̲p m̱o̬͎̱͚͉r̹̻͕e̝͎̗͎̘.͙͈̗̫̬̰ͅ ̩̥͚͖A̪͉͖̹͕͍t̪͇̫̙l̳̲a̟͖̥̻s͈;̫̭̖͈̬͈ a̯̪l̰ͅl̖͖͇̹ ̫͕͍I͍̟͕ ̦̰͉c̯̙̤̖ͅa̳̱͙n̟̜̣ ͉̼̭of̮͔̩f̥̘̠e̲̭̥̖r̞̗͎̙̯̯̰ i̮s͖̺ ͉͓̲͕̤g͙͕̲̦͎̻̺u̯̦̹̣̲i̤d̤̯ͅa̭n̻̙̦c̘̫e̳̰̬. ̱̝͕͈͕̺W͙̪h̜̘̣̰̫̖e̬n̳ y͓̻͔͍̟̲̪o͎̱̖u̯ ̙͚̻k͎̲̖n̯̼̯̳o̺̗̜̳͍͈̯w͔̜̙ ̲̮̖̫w͍͇̺̹h̞̠̩͕̬͇ͅa̼̮̖̙̼̼̮t̬̯̫̖̯ you̬ need̻̖̯̻ ̬̦t̮͍̫̪͉o̦͈̱̗̞ ̣̙͚͓̻ͅd̤͔̟̱̠o̱̲̺̹̞̹,̝ ͔̻̟͉̲̗̲s͕e̹̩̙̺͕͎̞e̱̺͎̱k̠̥̺͍ ̗̬̮̱̻̗t̖͕̝ẖ̭͎̼̻̟e͎̣̤̙̜͇ ̻̟͙̳̘͍f̥̲͔̙̹̗l̮̲̹̦̥̥ͅo̮͔̙̥w͙̭͎̜e̝̲̥r̜. ͔Ḫ̪̪̮̳̣ḙ̲̗̙͈ w̙i͍̤̺l͈̩̻ͅl̲̩̟̬͔ ̫̭̩͕ḥ̣ḛ͓l͙͖̳̳̣̰p͓͎̳̯ y͔̝̙̭͉̙͇o̪̠u̮̝͔̩,̜̜͕͉̱͉ ̦̙̜͕͕̰b̝͙̥ut̖ ̳be̙̗̟̗͍̯̼w͓̯̪̗͓͉̟a̦r̘̖e̲̭̪̭̣ t͖̱̞͍͈̭h͎̩̙̜̜̮e̝͉͎͎ͅ t͈͙͎h̝̮͈ͅo̖̲͔̦͓̻͖r̬̙̬̜̲̣n̮s̜͈̬̘ͅ_  

The world shook, a jolting sensation which caused blotches of static to appear in the darkness. Faintly, you could hear the sound of doors opening and closing, the scurrying of feet.  
 _W͕͇͍̫̣a͎͈͎̮ḵ̼̰̣e̠ ̳̗͙no̲̹̠͕̻̳̻w̠͕̥̥.̬̣̬̮ I̯̖͓ ͉̤̪c̬ͅa̳nn͖̹̰͉͎̞̼ot̥̣̝͎͓ ̤̖s͓̗͇ṱa̖y.͓̦̦_

The world began crumbling, dissolving like cotton candy in water. The darkness fell away into the shifting, hurting grey of static.

_Ŵ̡̹̠̝̞̜̥̞͎̮͂̆̽̅̕a̸͓̤̱̘͛̋͑̍̀ͅk͖̣̱͔̟̟̠̙̘̈ͪ̌ͥͬ͝ȅ͚̤̙͖̯͙̒̈ͥ͟͞_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading peoples!  
> HOLY FUCKING SHIT 2K hits???????? I want to die. Fuck. Hpel.
> 
> KUDOS, COMMENT AND/OR SHARE TO MAKE ME REGURGITATE RAINBOWS  
> Love ya!  
> Trin <3


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heya! Name's Trinity. You can find me on...  
> tumblr: @infinitrinx  
> snapchat: @infintrinxx  
> insta: @infinitrinx  
> Drop by anytime!
> 
> Find my slave driver on...  
> tumblr: @taghashromer

You sat up in bed, slightly too quickly, side pinching as you did so. There was an uproar of activity outside the room, the scuttling of feet against tile and murmur of anxious voices. The room was empty, strangely silent in comparison to the bustling outside. Yet it was dark, the fluorescent lights overhead seeming to have been turned off. You swung your legs off the side of the bed, nearly knocking over the mug you placed there. Bending down, you cradled the empty ceramic in your hands. It was cool.

Everything was a tad colder, despite you still being in the Hotland domain. You snuggled further into the fur-lined jacket draped over your form. It was slightly loose. The soft fur dragged comfortingly across your skin, calming any remaining panic lingering from the dream.   
Wait, what did you dream about? You couldn’t remember.

Your mind felt fuzzy, confused. As though you were trying to remember something just out of reach, like walking through the door of a room and forgetting why you went there in the first place. You needed to remember something, something important. You buried your face into the outer fur peeking over the collar of the jacket, closing your eyes and concentrating. The material smelt very faintly of ketchup, the crispness of snow and something else you couldn’t identify.

Something slammed a distance away. Now wasn’t the time to be reminiscing about dreams. You needed to find out what was going on. 

Your ankle throbbed when you tried putting some weight on it, causing you to recoil back onto the mattress. How long have you been asleep? What time…? Wait, that didn’t matter anymore. You were literally in a basement underground. That was like, double underground, where the sun definitely doesn’t shine and time probably mattered little. 

More cautiously, you lowered your weight onto the cool tile floor, leaning your weight onto your uninjured left ankle. You were suddenly grateful that you had fallen asleep in the fluffy blue jacket, lest you wake with a cold. The chilled temperature seeped into the soles of your feet and you realised you didn’t know where your shoes went. Shrugging the concern off for now, you stretched cautiously, feeling stiff muscles flex and joints pop. You flinched when your side protested, cutting your pleasant stretch off halfway. 

The bustling outside continued on, drawing you out of bed to limp your way over to the door. The door nearly collided with a frog monster when you opened it, causing the creature to ribbit frightfully and hop away. The hallway was dark too. Perhaps there had been a power trip?   
“Sorry!” You called after their retreating form. They didn’t acknowledge your apology.

Monsters of all kinds rushed from room to room, some carrying various personal belongings. You decided to follow the general direction of the crowd, limping carefully through the hallways and being painstakingly precise about where you step. You eventually arrived at a spacious room, filled to the brim with monsters huddled around a wall of glowing screens.   
Well, that disproved the theory of a power trip.

You spotted Sans and Alphys right at the front of the crowd, leaning over the smallest console you’ve ever seen. Limping towards them, the murmuring monsters quieted immediately, parting like the Red Sea at your ankles. Sans and Alphys had been heatedly discussing something but paused to watch you approach. You felt immensely uncomfortable, the entire situation sending prickles to the back of your neck.

“Hey… guys…” You gave a lame wave, tucking your hand into your chest after the the half-aborted motion. “Uh, what’s going on?”   
“some government goons are snooping out the Underground so Alph locked us all down in the basement.” Sans replied, shifting his attention back to the glowing computer screens. In the relative darkness, the artificial glow made Sans seem sinister. He had the hood of his pullover drawn over his head. You thought he looked like a mini grim reaper. There had to be at least ten monitors, a mix match combination of computer screens, televisions and more. They fitted together like a haphazard wall of technological tetris, each screen showing a different part of Snowdin, Waterfall, Hotland and New Home. You squatted down awkwardly, hopping to avoid putting weight on your ankle, before you finally managed to sit down on the tile. 

“I-I told you, S-Sans! It’s only t-temporary, until the humans leave. They w-won’t find us t-this way.” Alphys stuttered, exasperation in her voice telling you they had probably discussed this already.   
“and what if you can’t get the power back on, huh? then what? we’re all just going to be trapped down here.” Sans slammed a palm down onto the tiny console, his hood falling off in the process. You didn’t miss how Alphys’ gaze lingered on the now exposed monster collar. She shrunk back and Sans jerked the hood up.

“what i said stands. even if you shut off everything, there’s no guarantee they won’t find us anyway.” Sans said, distant.   
“They h-haven’t found us b-before. A-and I’ve always b-been able to jumpstart the electricity a-after.”   
“all it takes is one time for either and its game over.”   
“W-we’ve lasted this l-long…?”   
“barely.”

You leaned forward, squinting at the figures marching through the Underground. The monitor before you trained on a small group marching through Waterfall. Creepy gas masks covered their faces, enlarged glass eyeholes gleaming in the shine of torches they had strapped to the tops of guns which they swung before them. You shuddered at the sight of the weapons, watching their gun centric movements to be ‘shoot first, ask later’. The leading soldier (For that was what they were. There was no denying you were caught in the crossfires of a war.) unclipped a walkie-talkie from their belt, speaking for a moment before leading the group forward into a patch of tall grass.

“Who are they?” You wondered aloud, making out a blurry logo on the sleeves of their black and green uniforms. A blooming rose emblem was stitched across their right biceps, nestled against a slightly lighter shade of green serving as a banner.

(A flower. You were looking for a flower. Why were you looking for a flower?)

When you didn’t receive a response, you nudged Sans, silencing him out of his rapidly escalating conversation with Alphys.   
“Who are these people?” You asked again, watching as the stormed through houses in Snowdin.   
“assholes.” Sans spat, not really paying attention to your question.

“W-we don’t really know…” Alphys admitted, cringing when the soldiers stormed through a house in the shape of a fish head. “But, anyone caught by them is either d-dusted or… taken. A-and they’re n-never seen ag-again.”

Alphys’ gaze refused to tear from that screen, worry rolling off her in waves as she watched the house being searched. You wondered if it was hers.   
“Hey, it’ll be alright. They’ve done this before and nothing has happened right?” You made to giver Alphys a reassuring pat, but decided against it when she flinched back at your hand.   
“B-but, Sans is r-right… Just once…”   
“ _ now  _ you listen to what i’m saying.”   


“Hush!” Someone behind you said, drawing your attention back to the screens. There was a group of soldiers approaching the lab, forcing open the double doors. You watched as they filed inside, flashlights casting beams of scrutiny into the dark stillness of the powered down lab. Everyone held their breath.

The soldiers swept through the lab just above you, walking between cannibalised equipment and piles of unwashed dishes. After making a full circuit of the area, the leader gestured something and the group was made to leave. You felt the ball of anxiety wound in your limbs begin to unwind.

That was, until the last soldier in the group hesitated. They backtracked curiously, eyeing the elevator disguised as a toilet. They took off their gas mask to allow golden hair to sweep out of the confinement. You recognised her as the soldier who had grabbed you. She took a step towards the elevator, shining her torch on the door. Dread whispered in your ear, the room quivering on edge as no one had the courage to utter.

She whipped her head towards the exit of the lab, as though hearing something. Then she quickly pulled on her gas mask and jogged out. Half the room released a sigh of relief. Your palms stung and you realised you had been gripping the sleeves of the blue jacket rather tightly. Red had begun to seep up through the gauze. You relaxed, smoothing your palms out against your jeans.

“What do they want?” You exhaled, leaning forward to stare closer at the figures on screen.   
“I-I don’t know. They haven’t performed a r-raid in m-months.” Alphys coughed, staring intensely at the screens. She was lying. Everyone knew why they came down here after months of peace.

It was your fault. If you hadn’t come, the last of the free monsters would be left alone. But no, you had to elbow your way down here and disrupt the peace. You lead the soldiers down here. You were as bad as them.   
“I’m sorry, Alphys, everyone. I shouldn’t have come. I know it’s my fault.”

You heard growling.   
“Ha! At least the Human knows it’s not welcome.”   
You ducked you head in shame, accepting whatever would be thrown at you.

“if you guys are done hating the one human who isn’t trying to kill us, i welcome your bright ideas on getting rid of the ones who are.” Sans interjected before anything else could be said.   
Silence.   
“well then, better get thinkin.”   
Sans pushed away from the console, head down, hood up and hands in his pockets. He headed off to another corridor in the basement lab. You noticed the monsters parted for him too.

-

It was immensely uncomfortable without Sans. You lasted probably 5 more minutes surrounded by monsters who were afraid of you, hated you, or felt a combination of both. You bid a goodbye to Alphys, thanking her again for helping you, before wandering down a random hallway.

You found yourself in a room full of wilted flowers. The pathetic plants lined several racks of shelves, drooping downwards, weighted by the sweet stench of decomposition. Your ankle was beginning to bother you so you hopped up onto the counter, pushing several of the pots into a corner. You picked at the bandages wrapped around your hands, tugging slightly at the material which had begun to itch against your skin.

What has your life become? Here you were, trapped kilometers below the surface, at the mercy of ankle high beings who have every right to, and do, hate you. You wondered who would cover classes for you, then laughed at the sheer absurdity of the thought. Oh god, the orphanage. Would it survive? Would Francine be able to pick up the slack? Your kids had worked so hard on their performance, it wouldn’t be fair to have it ripped away just because you went missing. Would anyone worry? No, of course they would. Your kids practically flipped their shit hearing about the snatch thief, they’d probably host a search party for you with Frisk leading.

Oh… Frisk.   
You hoped they would be happy and get the life they deserve if… if you didn’t make it out of this alive.   
That thought sobered you. It was a very real situation. You’d already gotten hurt several times. Now, there was the actual military involved, guns and all. There was a very high chance that you might not survive this adventure.

Still, you knew some of the truth. You had found the free monsters. That was more than what any other human has done against this oppression so far. Realistically, you were probably going to die. Might as well do something against this fucked up situation. Its gone on too long without any real intervention.

“Yo! Human! Up here!” An excited voice called from somewhere to your upper right, pulling you from your thoughts. It took you a moment to find the source of the voice. Nestled between two flower pots on a higher rack was an armless dinosaur monster. He wore a yellow and brown striped top, bouncing up and down on his toes. If he had arms, he’d probably be waving.   
“Hello there?” You grinned warmly. Maybe not everyone hates you.   
“Yo! Could you help me down from here?” The monster beamed. 

“Uh, sure.” You slid off the counter to stand under where the monster bounced. You had to tip toe slightly, but you managed to get your palm high enough for the monster to jump into your outstretched hands.   
“Thanks, not-friend!”

You laughed at his enthusiasm.   
“How’d you get up there anyways?”   
“I have a way of getting places.” The monster flashed you a toothy grin. 

Gently, you lowered the monster onto the ground plopping yourself down slightly too hard. Your butt hurt.   
“What’s your name?” You asked, stretching your injured leg before you. You folded the other into yourself.   
“I’m Monster Kid! Tho my friends call me M.K. for short. Kid is cool too!” M.K. said, sitting down on the tile before you.   
What kind of a name is Monster Kid? Would he have to change his name when he grows older? Monster Teen, Monster Adult, Monster Elderly… That would be inconvenient.

“Nice to meet you, M.K.. I’m-”   
“Wait! Wait!” Monster Kid cut you off before you could introduce yourself. He looked worried. “You can’t call me M.K., we’re not friends! My parents and the other adults said we can’t be friends.”

You blinked, unsure of what to respond. It should be no surprise to you that monsters would actively talk about and avoid you. In fact, it was made blatantly obvious. But somehow, hearing it upfront stung.   
“Oh, uh. I’m sorry M… Monster Kid. I guess you should listen to your parents. Run along then.”   
“Wait! I mean, we can still hang out. If you want. As not friends of course!” Monster Kid gushed, tail seeming to thrash slightly from side to side.

You hesitated. The cutiepie obviously wanted to be friends, but at the same time you didn’t want them to get in trouble with their parents.   
“Kid, I think you’re really nice a-”   
“Really?” Monster Kid blushed, eyes shining, “That’s great, dude! Come on, I’ll show you my favourite place to hang out down here.”

The precious child leapt to his feet, scrambling forwards. Then he promptly face planted straight into the ground before springing right back up and taking off again. You grimaced, rushing to your feet after the little monster.   
“Wait, slow down! Be careful!”

You followed the excitable dinosaur through another set of winding hallways. You were so lost, this place was a labyrinth. (Or a  _ lab _ yrinth as Sans might have put it. If he was in a better mood. You made a mental note to try talking to him later.) Monster Kid ignored your words of caution in favor of bouncing on his toes, chiming to “Hurry up, dude!” or chorus “Come on, this way!”

At one point, you passed by the room of television screens, monsters still huddled around the consoles. You hurried past, avoiding anyone’s gaze. Eventually, you arrived at a room empty except for a large machine in the centre. It looked like a giant metallic skull, attached to a multitude of complex wires, snaking across the structure and into the walls. 

“Woah, what is this thing?” You asked, voice echoing in the silent room.   
“Y’know, I don’t actually know. Huh, what  _ is _ that thing?” Monster Kid tilted himself exaggeratedly to one side, eyeing the machinery. He stepped forward, kicking one of the loose wires trailing onto the ground.   
“Hey, Kid. Maybe we shouldn’t touch it. It may not be safe.” You shuffled, gathering the wires snaking onto the floor to tuck them into the metal mandibles of the machine. This place really should be made safer, especially if children are allowed around it.  

“Nah. I hang out here all the time! Besides, Undyne wouldn’t shy away in the face of danger!” Monster Kid skipped over several other cables ahead of you. You frowned.   
“Hey! Be careful.” You bent to gather up more of the cables, “Who’s Undyne, by the way?”

“Oh! Oh! Dude! Undyne is like, the coolest monster ever! She’s really badass and would fight bad guys no problem. If Undyne were here, she’d have kicked out those nasty humans… er… The mean ones, I mean.” Monster Kid rambled on, stopping short awkwardly. He ducked behind a loop of red and green wires bunched together.

Shit, was he afraid of you? The child didn’t exactly cower like some of the other monsters you came across. But he was obviously anxious of your reaction. Did he think he said something wrong? Even you had to admit, humans sucked. Still, Monster Kid had tried to befriend you, even though others told him not to. It would have been dangerous, foolish if it were someone else; someone else who did not yet understand. But somehow, his naive friendliness gave you hope. You couldn’t let him be afraid of you, you couldn’t bear it. You squat down to the tiny monster’s level. 

“Monster Kid, I gotta admit, some humans can be pretty mean and they do deserve a good butt kicking by this Undyne person.” You grinned, tucking the last of the dangling wires into the machine, “But as your ‘not-friend’, I’ll kick the butt of anyone who’s mean to you till Undyne gets back, okay?”

Monster Kid flashed you a toothy grin, dashing out from behind the loop of wires (,falling on his face again and somehow bouncing straight back up,) to jump tackle directly into your stomach. Gauze wrapped hands flew up to meet him in surprise.   
“Yo! You’re like, pretty badass too, dude!” Monster Kid nuzzled his snout into your flesh. The motion tickled your stomach and you failed to hold back a giggle.

“So, tell me about this Undyne person.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey dude bro pals!  
> So, this was supposed to go up earlier but then I accidentally marathoned SVTFOE in one day and fell into another fandom someone save me.  
> TMR IS THE LAST DAY OF EXAMS AAAAAA
> 
> WE. ARE. ALMOST. AT. 200. KUDOS????  
> Thank you very very much to everybody. I send memes and smiles to all you beautiful people.  
> Comment, kudos, share, ya know the drill.
> 
> I LOVE YOUUUU  
> Trin <3


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heya! Name's Trinity. You can find me on...  
> tumblr: @infinitrinx  
> snapchat: @infintrinxx  
> insta: @infinitrinx  
> Drop by anytime!
> 
> Find my slave driver on...  
> tumblr: @taghashromer

You regretted asking about that Undyne person.   
Monster Kid went on and on about her for what felt like hours. At some point, you had tuned out the kid’s rambling to background noise, curling up in a corner of the room with the creepy metal head machine thing. Monster Kid continued on in unceasing excitement, narrating tales of Undyne The Undying complete with dramatic reenactments.

You giggled, watching Monster Kid flop to the ground before you, gasping dramatically while kicking his feet into the air. He vocalised exaggerated choking sounds before springing back to his feet.   
“Then Undyne would get out her awesome spears and whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, AHHHH!”

Despite the entertaining scene, you couldn’t help but cringe internally. Undyne really seemed like a monster you wouldn’t want to cross. With how the rest of the monsters were receiving you, you were kind of glad she wasn’t here…   
Oh god, how could you even think that? Scary or not, Undyne didn’t deserve any mistreatment she might have to endure on the surface. Honestly, what was wrong with you? If anything, monsters were already being hospitable towards you considering the circumstances. You haven’t done anything to set yourself apart from the rest of humanity, you didn’t deserve any special or better treatment.

You stifled a yawn, rubbing your gauze covered palms down your face. The material was rough against the skin of your cheeks.   
“Then there was once where Undyne was training and-”   
“Hey, Kid. Sorry to cut storytime short, but I’m still sick and need some rest.” You interjected, apologetic. The smile on your face was half-hearted, due to the heavy pressure beginning to settle against your temples.   
“Oh. Okay.” Monster Kid deflated slightly, before perking up and hopping onto your bare foot, “But we can hang out again sometime, right dude?”

Monster Kid’s tail swished lightly as he beamed up at you, eyes practically sparkling in anticipation. So adorable. You couldn’t help but stretch out a finger to pet him on his little spiny head.   
“Of course, Kid.”

The little armless dinosaur leaned into your touch for a moment, eyes closed, grinning contentedly, before jumping away and sprinting down the hallway.   
“See ya, not-friend!” Monster Kid said, promptly falling on his face afterward.   
“Be careful!” You waved.

You closed your eyes, sighing as you leant back against the cool metal wall, allowing exhaustion of the day to catch up with you. It wasn’t like you did anything much honestly, but Monster Kid was so excitable and enthusiastic. Being around people like that for long periods of time made you tired for some reason. Throw in your injuries, the unreal absurdity of the situation and your own gnawing emotions and you’ve got a fresh cocktail of Exhausted.

There was a bump and a hum from deep within the walls. The lights overhead flickered on, illuminating through your closed lids.   
You felt bad. Not just for everything humanity has done, but as an individual. What were you even doing here? You were just being a burden, taking up space and using up the already limited resources. As soon as you could, you needed to do something to help.

First things first; Sans.   
Your friend was obviously upset over something to do with the monster collar. Sure, his concerns of getting stuck down in this dreary lab were completely reasonable, but even then his reaction had been a tad extreme. You weren’t dumb. Something was up with the collar that made everyone else afraid of him.

Oh. Damn.   
Sans had basically escaped a bad situation on the surface, expecting to find refuge in his old home only to be discriminated and feared by his own people. Fucking yikes. You couldn’t begin to imagine how shitty Sans must feel. You needed to talk to him.

You heaved yourself from the ground, stumbling only slightly. Alone, the hallway seemed much more menacing despite the lights being on. You couldn’t help but stare at the machine, feeling a sense of dread stir within you. Somehow, you had a feeling that bad things had happened here before, even if you didn’t know what. You tore your eyes away from the structure. It’s best not to think too hard about it.

You started down hallway after hallway, mostly empty now although you came across the occasional monster who kept their head down and scurried past you. After the fourth left turn, you knew you were hopelessly lost. Your feet were dirty, dust clinging to the pads of your soles. Damn, how big was this place?

Past another corner, the jutting edge of a wall revealed the gaping jaws of the creepy machine. You were right back where you started. Frustrated, you groaned, slapping a palm against your face.   
Then, in the creepy quiet came a child’s laugh. Not like M.K’s raucous giggles, but a demented little tinkling which dragged itself down your nerves like icy fingers. You paused, suddenly feeling very sick.   
“Who’s there?” You called into the room, daring yourself to inch past the corner hiding the rest of the area from view.

You gulped, feeling your heart pounding against your sternum. There was a flash of yellow and green in one of the corners of the room. You froze, breathing heavy. This is stupid, it was probably one of the monsters or something. You forced yourself to continue inching forward, trembling gently.   
  
Just one step more. Come on, what's the worst that could happen? (Actual literal death, blood, a monster who might want to rip out your throat and wear your intestines like a necklace or maybe the military found us and would shoot out your limbs and pull out your fingernails to interrogate you for information you didn't have or-)  
Stop. You’re being silly.   


Just round the corner you peeked, braced for the terrors your mind concocted.   
…   
…   
…   
There was nothing there. You exhaled a shaky laugh, raking your fingers through your slightly greasy hair. You needed a shower. Frankly, you were sure you looked and smelt pretty bad by now. You wondered if there was a shower down here. Thank everything in the world you were living to ask if there was a shower.

“H-Hi there!”   
You shrieked, collected tension bursting out like a spring, shooting you up into the air. Flailing, you swung around in a panicked daze, heart beating only faster when you saw no one there. Wait.   
You looked down.   
Oh.

Alphys blushed against the tiled floor, claws held up as though she was bracing herself against something.   
“S-Sorry-y! I-I didn’t m-mean… I-I-”   
“Oh my god. Alphys,” You let out a slightly hysterical laugh, “you scared me.”   
“I’m s-sorry!” She squeaked, curling in on herself slightly. Shit.

“Hey, chill. I’m not gonna hurt you or anything, okay? I promise.” You held up a hand, palm forward and fingers straight, “Scout’s honour.”   
“U-Uh, okay.” Alphys peered up at you cautiously, “What a-are you doing h-here?”

You shrugged, lip between your teeth.   
“Actually, I’m kind of lost. Mind helping me out?”   
“Yeah! S-sure. Back to y-your room?” Alphys asked, climbing up onto your offered palm. (Your room? Was it yours? Were you staying here? It felt more like a room than your room.) You nodded, drawing her closer to your chest.   
Alphys tugged at the bandages wound around your hands, prodding gently.   
“We m-might as well change th-these right now too. Turn right here. W-we’ll stop by the supplies f-first.”

Despite everything, something warm and fuzzy lodged it’s way in your heart. Alphys was being utterly professional about the ordeal, but the fact that she’s asking, the fact that she continues to care, stands out in your mind. She could have refused you care or even done the bare pathetic minimum. But she didn’t. And no matter what way you looked at it, it struck you as kind.

“Hey, Alphys? Thanks. For helping me, I mean. I literally owe my life to you.” You said warmly, hoping words alone could express your gratitude. Alphys blushed deeply, tail coiling against her body.   
“I-I was just doing my j-job.” She said.   
“But you didn’t have to.”   
“I… guess…”

You continued limping down the hallway, eventually arriving at a smaller room packed to the brim with supplies of all sorts. Food, toiletries, medical supplies and more were all stuffed on racks upon racks of metal shelves. Although, the room looked as though it used to house more. You set Alphys down on a nearby rack as instructed, watching her disappear behind a small barricade of items.

You picked at the fur of your jacket, leaning your weight off your injured foot. It was especially dusty in here, stale musty air weighing down on the room. You always hated storerooms for this very reason. Of course, when you were younger you had been afraid of monsters in the closet. You nearly laughed now at the thought, standing in a storage room with a literal monster. Balancing on one leg, you scrunched your face at the black coating the sole of your foot.   
“Do you happen to know where my shoes are?”   
“Oh, I-I’m not sure. S-Sorry. I think S-Sans would k-know.”

Sans… Where was that skeletal dumbass? But would he even want to talk to you? Given the track record, you weren’t exactly the best at feelings things with Sans. Still, you had to find out what was going on. It was like something blatant had been shoved in your face, and you were too dumb to comprehend it. You hated not understanding.   
Plus, Sans obviously needs moral support, stat.

“Hey Alphys, do you know-” Shit. Maybe it wasn’t such a good idea to ask. It felt like you were going to gossip about the literal only actual friend you have down here. For all you knew, the stats on the collar could be something super personal to Sans. Even if they weren’t, you should probably ask Sans himself. Shame on you for even considering talking behind his back. “-do you know, um… where Sans is?”

Alphys emerged from behind a sheet of metal, dragging out a first aid kit. Her tail hit the metal sheet with a hollow clang and you bent down to help her with the box. She climbed onto your palm like before, already working on undoing the bandages as you cradled her close and exited the room.   
“Why do you want to know?” She replied, voice surprisingly steady and not a small bit cold. Oh no, did you do something wrong? Well, honesty never hurts a situation.   
“I’m just worried about him. Something’s wrong-” You turned a corner at Alphys’ instruction, “Well no, I mean. Everything’s wrong, duh. But I just need to talk to him.”

How you had gotten lost in the first place was kind of dumb considering how quickly it was before you were standing in front of the doors to the room you were staying in. You hesitated before opening the door, considering Sans might be inside.

He wasn’t.

“Just talk?” Alphys asked in the same chilly tone as you sat on the bed. You couldn’t help but feel insulted, despite knowing everyone technically had the right to be suspicious of you. Still, you’d lived with Sans for more than a week! If you wanted to hurt him, he would already have been hurt.    
She gathered up the dirty gauze bandages then made quick work of gathering fresh gauze and iodine from the kit. Ah damn, this is gonna hurt.   
“Yeah. What else do you think I’m gonna do?” You frowned, flinching slightly away from the cleaning fluid, “Sans is my friend.”

Alphys finished tending to your palms without another word. You thanked her as she hopped down to the floor, claws skittering.  
“I-I found your sh-shoes.” She said, nodding to the side of your bed.   
And there they were, tucked against the side of the bed frame and looking just a tad more beat up than usual. They had been wedged halfway under the bed such that only the heels stuck out. You latched a finger into your shoe, pulling it out.   
You must be more blind than you thought. At least you had the decent excuse of investigating a possible power shortage.   
“Thank you, Alphys. For everything.” You smiled warmly, determined to get the monsters to warm up to you. You weren’t that bad, right? You weren’t like other humans,  _ right _ ? “If there’s anything I can do to help, please…”

The scientist considered you for a moment before red blossomed on her cheeks and she turned away.   
“Come upstairs to the lab tomorrow.”   
“Okay, see you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What has writer's block and a bad case of stomach flu?  
> THIS GALLL


End file.
